The governments of France, Spain, and Germany have ramped up efforts to repress Palestine solidarity activism. Palestinians and their allies in these countries are facing more legal measures to criminalize their rights to boycott and critique the Israeli regime than ever before. How does each context differ? What is at stake for Palestinians and their allies in each country? What has been done and what needs to be done to counter these troubling developments?

Join host Nadim Bawalsa in conversation with Abir Kopty and Nadia Silhi Chahin to answer these questions and more.

Abir Kopty is a member of Al-Shabaka's policy network and a journalist and writer based in Berlin. She holds an MA in Political Communication from City University, London, and is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin. She contributes political analysis to media outlets such as The Nation, Middle East Eye, and Open Democracy.

Nadia Silhi Chahin is a PhD candidate at Edinburgh Law School. She holds a Master's degree in Advanced Human Rights Studies from the University of Carlos III de Madrid and an LLB from the University of Chile. A Chilean of Palestinian descent, Silhi Chahin is a licensed lawyer in Chile and recipient of the Human Rights Award by the Human Rights Institute of the University Carlos III de Madrid.

Nadim Bawalsa is Al-Shabaka’s Commissioning Editor. He is a historian of modern Palestine and author of Transnational Palestine: Migration and the Right of Return before 1948 (Stanford University Press, 2022).

About the Policy Lab Program: Al-Shabaka's Policy Lab Program is an online live-stream space where audiences can engage directly with expert analysts from our nearly 200-member network as they craft policies and strategies related to Palestine. The labs are free and open for public participation, inviting viewers to join in on policy discussions.

Note: This discussion will take place in English. Our policy labs are supported through the generosity of donors. They are free to attend, though we accept contributions on a sliding scale upon registration to help sustain the program.

The opinions of individual members of Al-Shabaka’s policy network do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization as a whole.

Defending Palestine Solidarity Activism in Europe