Forty years ago, a massacre occurred in a refugee camp in Lebanon, which Israel failed to prevent. As a result, the German-Israeli Society became the target of a paint attack.
State security is investigating a paint attack on the offices of the German-Israeli Society (DIG) in Berlin-Mitte. A police spokesperson confirmed this on Sunday in response to an inquiry. A cleaning service discovered graffiti and markings in red paint on Saturday. The "Bild" newspaper had previously reported the incident. The organization has filed a complaint for property damage, said DIG President Volker Beck on Sunday. "This paint attack on our office is an unacceptable attack on us and on German-Israeli friendship."
Unknown individuals defaced the glass door of the company's office with the words "40 Years of Massacre," spray-painted the doorbell, and defaced the logo. The perpetrators were referencing an event that occurred 40 years ago, Beck explained. In September 1982, Christian Lebanese militia members perpetrated the Sabra and Shatila massacre in a Palestinian refugee camp within sight of Israeli checkpoints. Israel's then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon is accused of political complicity.
Beck emphasized that the incident did not justify the action. "Those who perpetrate such paint attacks want to intimidate, unsettle, and silence. We, the German-Israeli Society, will not be intimidated in this way," said the DIG president, who served in the Bundestag for the Green Party until 2017.
