Israeli Apartheid Week vs City of Oldenburg

In February 2019, the City Council of Oldenburg refused to grant public space to the local Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanction (BDS) group, claiming that the movement is antisemitic. BDS Oldenburg petitioned the Court that acknowledged its claims and instructed the city to grant the venue to host events related to the 2019 Israeli Apartheid Week.

In February 2019, Mr Cristopher Glanz, acting on behalf of BDS Oldenburg, submitted to the City Council of Oldenburg an official request for a city-owned conference space for events related to the 2019 Israeli Apartheid Week. The City Council refused to grant space, claiming that the BDS movement is antisemitic, refering among other materials, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism.

Attorney Ahmed Abed, representing BDS Oldenburg, , challenged the decision by filing an application for an interim measure before the Administrative Court of Oldenburg. On 21 March, the Court issued a judgement in favour of the City, arguing that the applicant did not sufficiently demonstrate that the BDS campaign is not antisemitic.

With the assistance of the ELSC, Attorney Abed filed an appeal of this decision before the Higher Administrative Court of Lower Saxony, including: i) a legal memo developed by ELSC, arguing how the right to boycott Israel is lawful under international law, and how this right is protected by international human rights law, especially by the Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR); ii) an authoritative statement signed by Professor John Dugard stressing the full legitimacy of BDS under international law.

The Higher Administrative Court overturned the decision of the lower Court, stating that since the charge of antisemitism represents a very serious allegation, the burden of proof lies with the party making the accusation. The Court further stated that “in any case, from the summary examination of the present case it cannot be determined that the applicant or the BDS campaign and the persons participating in the events undermine the free democratic basic order. Accordingly, (…) the applicant is entitled to carry out the planned events in City-owned venues.”

* The City of Oldenburg had already been convicted in 2018 for having withdrawn the permission it had already granted for an event organised by BDS Oldenburg in 2016.