The “Berlin 4” – Including Two Irish Activists – Face Deportation From Germany

By Séamus Wagner

The “Berlin 4” have faced calls for deportation from Germany, consisting of one American, one Polish and two Irish citizens, marking a significant instance of intra-EU deportation as German police – particularly known for its strong stances against them – clamp down on pro-Palestinian protests.

The two Irish citizens are in the process of appealing their deportations [1], and stands alongside arrests in Germany of various Irish protestors, including the banning of the Irish language. Irish connections to pro-Palestinian activism have created a unique and often fraught reputation abroad, seeing sharp condemnation from Israeli government officials, and the connection is often used to degrade Irish protestors with the slur, ‘Paddystinian’.

Ireland’s reputation of support for Palestine

Within the escalating repression against pro-Palestine activists that has characterised the Trump Administration’s, and broader Western, response to solidarity activism, a certain ire has been focused on such ‘Paddystinians’. Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War – the former described by many human rights organisations as committing genocide -, shows of solidarity by the Irish public and government have elicited harsh reactions on the part of Israel and it’s supporters.

The most prominent target of these attacks has been the Irish government itself. Israeli government officials “slander” Ireland as anti-semitic, according to President Michael D. Higgins [2]. Some of these officials, such as Defence Minister Israel Katz and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, have told Gazans to “go to Ireland” [3], or otherwise demanded Ireland accept Palestinian refugees fleeing Israel’s invasion of the enclave. For the past 18 months, Israeli officials have accused the Irish government of “hypocrisy” [4], “lies”, and financially supporting Hamas [5]. These diplomatic spats have culminated in Israel withdrawing its embassy from Dublin, again accusing Ireland of anti-semitism while doing so. In the eyes of Israel, in an otherwise excessively supportive West, Ireland stands out like a sore thumb.

Germany, the Berlin 4 and the Irish Bloc Berlin

In Germany, the pro-Palestine protests have been met more severely. In multiple protests, officials have outright banned the use of the Irish language [6], following similar bans against Arabic. German police have justified the bans by citing fears that activists would “say something that glorified terrorism or incited violence” [7], according to one solidarity activist. In one case, a protester was arrested for using the phrases Lámha as an Phalaistin and Saoirse don Phalaistin, or ‘Hands off Palestine’ and ‘Free Palestine’, respectively. In this particular instance, located outside Berlin’s Irish Embassy, present police justified the ban of Irish, and following arrest, by stating they could not find an interpreter. This was despite police having access to the Embassy and its staff throughout the protest.

This arrest has been joined by the attempt to deport the ‘Berlin 4‘, a group of 4 pro-Palestine activists arrested in Germany. Along with the Polish and U.S. citizens, two of the Berlin 4 are Irish citizens. None of them have a criminal record. In January, all 4 received letters informing them that they had lost their right to freedom of movement, with a following letter to their lawyers stating they had to leave Germany by April 21st. One of the Irish citizens was later granted a motion allowing them to stay in Germany for the duration of their deportation appeal. 

The group has been accused by German authorities of “anti-semitic hatred and incitement”, “anti-Israeli hatred”, resisting arrest, property damage, disturbing the peace, supporting Hamas and “defamation of honour” offences for allegedly calling a police officer a fascist. According to one of the group’s lawyers, the deportation orders have “no valid legal basis” [8].

Berlin 4’s lawyers maintain that such deportations would “infringe the rights of EU citizens to free movement, as stipulated in the laws of the European Union” [1], and thus mark a signifcant intra-EU rift. Accused of property damage and graffiti at one of the Berlin universities, The Berlin Immigration Office forbade the activists from keeping their residence permits “even though no criminal convictions had been announced“ [1]

The Irish Bloc Berlin, in support of the activists and pro-Palestinian activism, stated that the weaponisation of deportation has entered EU citizenry, and “not solely a problem of those without EU passport privileges” [14].

Pro-Palestinian activists have been met with arrests beyond just Germany. The attempted deportations of American Palestine supporters like Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Oztürk has caused the Union of Students Ireland to “urge” J1 visa holders to America to exercise caution in protesting abroad [9]. Last November, three Queen’s students were arrested for protesting against Hillary Clinton and pro-Israel figures on the QUB campus [10]. At DCU, one pro-Palestine student was arrested for protesting Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s presence on campus. 

Even when looking beyond student protests, the same story unfolds – such as in sports. Celtic’s Green Brigades have been repeatedly sanctioned by UEFA [11] and club officials for pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Within Irish music, Kneecap, following a recent Coachella performance where they condemned Israel, has seen calls for their work visas to be revoked [12]. Mothers Against Genocide members were arrested and stripped searched [13] by Gardaí for a protest outside the Oireachtas. The term ‘Paddystinian’ has often been used as an insult derived from Irish people’s support for Palestine.

Many activists express the dangers of combating prostests as stifling freedom of expression. According to the Irish Bloc of Germany, the restrictions on Irish language and attempted deportations of Irish citizens is an “existential threat to the EU as a whole” [15]. The Irish government, which has itself been implicated in aiding Israel [16], is yet to provide clarity on what Irish students should do when protesting in America. Irish pro-Palestinian protests – being particularly widespread – are undoubtedly continuing to be an incendiary talking point among EU nations and beyond, as the war in Gaza enters its twentieth month.

References

[1] Eadmin, (2025). “Berlin Deals With Protests Deportations And Worker Strikes in 2025”. Europe Outlook Magazine, 23 Apr 2025. https://europeoutlookmag.com/berlin-deals-with-protests-deportations-and-worker-strikes-in-2025/

[2] Monahan, T., Molony, S., McTaggart, M., (2024). “President Michael D Higgins says it is ‘slander’ for Israeli minister to accuse Irish people of antisemitism over Gaza stance”. The Irish Independent, 17 Dec 2024. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/president-michael-d-higgins-says-it-is-slander-for-israeli-minister-to-accuse-irish-people-of-antisemitism-over-gaza-stance/a348839003.html

[3] Belam, M., (2023). “Palestinians should ‘go to Ireland or deserts’ and using nuclear bomb on Gaza an option, says Israeli minister”. The Irish Times, 5 Nov 2023. https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2023/11/05/palestinians-should-go-to-ireland-or-deserts-and-using-nuclear-bomb-on-gaza-an-option-says-israeli-minister/

[4] RTE.ie., (2025). “Israel minister’s Gaza comments ‘provocative’, says Taoiseach”. RTE News, 6 Feb 2025. https://www.rte.ie/news/middle-east/2025/0206/1495021-israel-katz-ireland/

[5] McGreevy, R., (2023). “Israeli diplomat in Ireland deletes tweet suggesting Ireland funded Hamas tunnels in Gaza”. The Irish Times, 23 Oct 2023. https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/10/23/israeli-diplomat-in-ireland-deletes-tweet-which-suggested-ireland-funded-hamas-tunnels-in-gaza/

[6] Wrona, A., (2024). “Berlin police ban Irish protesters from speaking or singing in Irish at pro-Palestine ‘ciorcal comhrá’ near Reichstag”. The Irish Independent, 22 Apr 2024. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/berlin-police-ban-irish-protesters-from-speaking-or-singing-in-irish-at-pro-palestine-ciorcal-comhra-near-reichstag/a234500393.html

[7] The New Arab (2024), “Berlin bans protesters from singing in Irish and Hebrew at pro-Palestine rally”. The New Arab, 23 Apr 2024. https://www.newarab.com/news/berlin-bans-singing-irish-pro-palestine-protests

[8] Salfiti, J., (2025). “Germany wants to deport four pro-Palestine activists: What you should know”. Al Jazeera, 14 Apr 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/14/germany-orders-deportation-of-pro-palestine-activists-what-you-should-know

[9] Copestake, I., (2025). “Students Warned Of The Risks Of Activism On J1s This Summer”. District Magazine, 15 Apr 2025. https://districtmagazine.ie/news/students-warned-of-the-risks-of-activism-on-j1s-this-summer/

[10] The Gown (2024). “Global Innovation Summit: Protests Against Clinton and QUB’s Ties to Israel”. The Gown, 14 Nov 2024. https://the-gown.com/2024/11/14/global-innovation-summit-protests-against-clinton-and-qubs-ties-to-israel/

[11] O’Hare, L., (2023). “‘We’re on the right side of history’: Celtic’s growing feud over Palestine”. Al Jazeera, 2 Nov 2023. https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/11/2/celtic-fans-green-brigade-palestine-support-israel-war-on-gaza

[12] Peters, D., (2025). “Kneecap release statement following Coachella controversy: “We have faced a coordinated smear campaign”. NME, 25 Apr 2025. https://www.nme.com/news/music/kneecap-release-statement-following-coachella-controversy-we-have-faced-a-coordinated-smear-campaign-3858410

[13] White, J., McGee, H., (2025). “Mothers arrested during Gaza protest after Leinster House entrance blocked”. The Irish Times, 31 Mar 2025. https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2025/03/31/mothers-arrested-during-gaza-protest-after-leinster-house-entrance-blocked/

[14] Irish Bloc Berlin, (2025). “Irish Bloc Berlin’s Statement”. Irish Bloc Berlin, 1 Apr 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DH55b0wiWng/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[15] The Ditch, (2025). “Israeli weapons plane stopped at Shannon last month”. The Ditch, 4 Apr 2025. https://www.ontheditch.com/israeli-weapons-plane/