Nathaniel Flakin
Nathaniel is a freelance journalist and historian from Berlin. He is on the editorial board of Left Voice and our German sister site Klasse Gegen Klasse. Nathaniel, also known by the nickname Wladek, has written a biography of Martin Monath, a Trotskyist resistance fighter in France during World War II, which has appeared in German, in English, and in French, and in Spanish. He has also written an anticapitalist guide book called Revolutionary Berlin. He is on the autism spectrum.
Thousands of Police Deployed to Shut Down Congress on Palestine in Berlin
This weekend, a Palestine Congress was supposed to take place in the German capital. But 2,500 police were mobilized and shut down the event before the first speech could be held. Multiple Jewish comrades were arrested.
Nathaniel Flakin
April 12, 2024Fired by a German University for Solidarity with Palestine — Interview with Nancy Fraser
The University of Cologne canceled a guest professorship with the philosophy professor from The New School. In this interview, she speaks about Germany dividing between "Good Jews" and "Bad Jews," her politicization in the civil rights movement, and her time in an Israeli kibbutz.
Nathaniel Flakin
April 10, 2024We Don’t Want TikTok Under Control of U.S. Capitalists — Put It Under the Control of its Workers and Users
The U.S. government wants to force the sale of the incredibly popular Chinese social media app. A TikTok owned by U.S. capitalists will only make things worse. We want TikTok under workers' control!
Nathaniel Flakin
April 6, 2024Is the Golden Age of American Jews Ending? No, but Liberal Zionism Is Breaking Down.
Writing for The Atlantic, Franklin Foer purports to find rising antisemitism "on the right and the left." What actually concerns him is that "liberal" Zionism is no longer a thing. Young Jewish people are increasingly turning against Israel.
Nathaniel Flakin
April 4, 2024Berlin’s Mayor Loves Antisemites
Kai Wegner denounces the “antisemitism” of left-wing Jews — while he embraces the most high-profile antisemitic conspiracy theorist in the world.
Nathaniel Flakin
March 22, 2024A Left-Wing Bar Needs to Be Open to Everyone, Including Palestinians
Syndikat, an anarchist bar in Berlin's Neukölln district, has said that Palestinian groups aren't welcome. As leftists who meet up at Syndikat, we think the bar should work like any other left-wing space internationally.
Nathaniel Flakin
March 20, 2024To Stop Trump, We Need Much More Democracy, Not Less
Democrats have been trying to kick Trump off the ballot as an "insurrectionist." Liberals say we have to restrict democracy in order to save it. As socialists, we think they have it backwards: to beat the Far Right, we need a mass movement fighting for radical democracy.
Nathaniel Flakin
March 18, 2024Berlin Police Attack an Anti-Imperialist Feminist Demonstration on March 8
On International Women's Day, there were numerous demonstrations in Berlin, including: a union demonstration, an anti-imperialist demonstration, and a supposedly "leftist" demonstration in solidarity with Israel. As you would expect, police only attacked one of the three.
Nathaniel Flakin
March 14, 2024Berlinale: Filmmakers Say What the Rest of the World is Saying
At the Berlinale film festival, Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers called for equality and peace. German politicians want to ban such hateful talk.
Nathaniel Flakin
February 28, 2024“Antideutsche”: The Aberration of Germany’s Pro-Zionist Left
As Germany persists in its unwavering support of Israel and the total denial of its genocide, the German Left is conflicted over the issue. While leftists all over the world are showing solidarity with Palestine, a segment of the German Left is historically pro-Zionist. How did this movement, the so-called Antideutsche (Anti-Germans) come to be?
Nathaniel Flakin
February 21, 2024Why German Media are Lying About the Palestine Solidarity Movement at the Free University of Berlin
A rally in front of the Free University of Berlin had as many journalists as demonstrators. This is yet another example of the international campaign to defame all protests against Israel's genocidal military campaign.
Nathaniel Flakin
February 16, 2024Are You a Communist? Then Let’s Talk about the IMT
The International Marxist Tendency, led by Alan Woods, is rebranding itself as “the Communists.” Does this represent a shift to the left? Sort of. Yet decades of opportunist positions do not disappear overnight.
Nathaniel Flakin
February 12, 2024Defying Repression: Socialist Electeds in Argentina Show Us What Revolutionary Parliamentarism Looks Like
Workers in Argentina are defying police repression and fighting back against the far-right government’s shock therapy. Trotskyist members of congress are not just protesting inside the chamber — they are on the front lines of the demonstrations, getting pepper sprayed and shot with rubber bullets.
Nathaniel Flakin
February 9, 2024The German Government Is Paving the Way for the Far Right
Tens of thousands of people are demonstrating against the AfD. But the government of Olaf Scholz is already implementing many of the AfD’s policies.
Nathaniel Flakin
January 19, 2024Marxists Are Running in the Student Elections at Berlin’s Free University
On January 16-18, students at FU Berlin can vote for the student parliament. The Marxist group Waffen der Kritik (Weapons of Criticism) is running on a pro-worker, pro-Palestine platform.
Nathaniel Flakin
January 17, 2024Berlin Police Beat 65-Year-Old Grandfather Unconscious at Memorial Demonstration for Luxemburg and Liebknecht
On Sunday, thousands of people demonstrated in Berlin on the 105th anniversary of the murder of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. Police attacked the Palestine Bloc and sent at least 15 people to the hospital.
Nathaniel Flakin
January 15, 2024A Three-Way Split in Marx21 — Which Way Forward for the Revolutionary Left in Germany?
Marx21, the post-Trotskyist network inside Die Linke, has split into three different groups. How can revolutionary socialists move forward?
Nathaniel Flakin
January 13, 2024Why Does Joe Biden Support Israel? (Hint: It’s Not about Protecting Jews.)
Joe Biden has been unwavering in his support for Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza — even though the policy is horribly unpopular. Some bourgeois journalists claim that Biden is deeply concerned for Jewish life. But as the man himself has explained, this is all about U.S. imperialist interests.
Nathaniel Flakin
January 4, 2024Good Riddance to an Imperialist Gremlin
The German conservative politician Wolfgang Schäuble is dead. Good.
Nathaniel Flakin
December 29, 2023“We’re More Likely to Be Threatened by the Police than by Palestinians” — Interview with Jewish Voice in Germany
In the name of fighting antisemitism, Germany is attacking anti-Zionist Jews. Wieland Hoban is a composer from Frankfurt, and chairperson of the association Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East).
Nathaniel Flakin
December 28, 2023The German Government is Attacking Jewish Life in Germany
Olaf Scholz says he wants to protect Jewish life in Germany. Then why are so many Jews getting censored for criticizing Israel?
Nathaniel Flakin
December 20, 2023The Farce of the “Two-State Solution” and the Socialist Perspective for Palestine
For decades, imperialist governments have been calling for a “two-state solution.” This is an obvious failure. But what would a socialist alternative look like? A debate with different socialist tendencies.
Nathaniel Flakin
December 16, 2023No, Intifada Does Not Mean Genocide Against Jews
Does "Intifada" mean genocide against Jews? Obviously not. A history lesson for racist cynics.
Nathaniel Flakin
December 14, 2023Robert Habeck Wrote a Play Praising a Right-Wing Mass Murderer
Germany's Green vice chancellor strikes many as an idealist who has been struggling with the tough realities of government. Yet before he was a national politician, he wrote a play that opens a window into a dark soul.
Nathaniel Flakin
December 1, 2023Fact Check: Did German Leftists Try to Bomb West Berlin’s Jewish Community Center in 1969?
Answer: No. The bombing was undertaken by West Germany’s domestic secret service, originally founded by Nazis.
Nathaniel Flakin
November 29, 2023“Stop Thief!” The German State Attacks Migrants to Distract from Its Own Antisemitism
German politicians claim that antisemitism is an “imported problem.” Even a cursory look at the facts, however, shows that anti-Jewish hatred is not caused by pro-Palestinian protests. No, the source is German capitalism.
Nathaniel Flakin
November 21, 2023Competing Rallies at Berlin’s Free University
On successive Fridays, there was a pro-Palestinian and a pro-Israeli rally at the Free University. One was dominated by international students, including many Jews and Palestinians, calling for solidarity — the other was dominated by German politicians spewing racism. Guess which was which.
Nathaniel Flakin
November 13, 2023In Berlin, Jews and Palestinians Are Demonstrating Together
This Saturday, Jewish and Palestinian groups are organizing a demonstration against the war.
Nathaniel Flakin
November 4, 2023Does the State of Israel Protect Jews from Antisemitism?
Western governments claim that the Zionist state is necessary to protect Jewish life. Yet a look at history shows that the colonization of Palestine was motivated by imperialism, not by any desire to help Jews.
Nathaniel Flakin
October 31, 2023Germany’s Die Linke Splits: Social Chauvinists vs Government Socialists
Sahra Wagenknecht is splitting from Die Linke and forming a new party. Her "left conservatism" is bad for immigrants but bad for German workers too.
Nathaniel Flakin
October 28, 2023