Here we provide a shortened translation of a statement by the Berlin DJ Elliver. It is about the Buttons Crew who recently announced that they will not work anymore with About Blank Club, because the club supposedly is “anti-Deutsch” and “in favor of all actions of the Israeli state”, which is a lie. The claims by the Buttons Crew can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQa-Hm7hEAa/

Elliver’s full statement in German can be found on her Facebook page here.

“First of all, I would like to join my colleague who has noted that About Blank Club has really and demonstrably always been open to every opinion and only drew a red line when calling for a boycott of Israel and Israelis, which they have never made a secret of. The tolerance that prevails there has only opened up a political discourse that is otherwise hardly ever held in a celebration context and which is now blowing up in all our faces.
This thing about why queer communities choose this of all difficult nationalist conflicts is beyond me and that’s why I can’t go into it any further. Here I refer you to the Belltower article: https://www.belltower.news/beef-in-berlins-queer-party-scene-is-solidarity-with-israel-homonationalism-117761
What really irritates me is this corny statement by the Button Crew, who claim that they can no longer invite wide and important sections of their communities to About Blank Club because the BDS campaign is rejected there. Surely then it would be their job to make it clear to people that this is the Red Line of the space, but diverse opinions and voices are allowed. OK. You don’t have to want to… but why do you end up writing such an oozing text, which covers your long-time partner with serious accusations, while your own role is not reflected upon, but is a single positive self-promotion?
What gets me the worst of all: With the accusation “(…) the broader anti-German left’s smearing of Palestinian and left-wing Jewish voices as somehow anti-semitic while right-wing attacks on migrants, people of colour, Islam, and Jews (like in Halle and Hanau) show where the real danger lies.” The Blank Collective is indirectly being held responsible for terrorist attacks, or at least they are being accused of not taking racism in Germany, right-wing terror and the situation of POC in this country seriously.
Have you really had to deal with the same people as me? This is not a homogeneous bunch that can be accused of anti-Germanism across the board.
We are talking about people who have actively campaigned for anti-fascism and anti-racism over the last decades. Even at the risk of their physical and mental health. These people made the decision over eleven years ago to collectively build up this space, which they consciously also make available to marginalised and political groups. Of course, from today’s perspective, it is not perfect that people with a migration history do not feel represented in the collective. In my eyes, About Blank faces up to this criticism and is open to change.
That this criticism is now being brought to About Blank with this kind of accusations from a kind of international celebratory jet set, many of whom have apparently only become politicised in recent months, I find simply shabby.
You are not doing anything against Potato-Germany here! You are fighting those who have consciously chosen to set counterpoints in this country and create free spaces that are becoming less and less available. For all the justified criticism of us white potato leftists – and it must come in any case: with this approach and this statement, you are pouncing on the wrong place.
“Find new cosmic companions, bond elsewhere. Or end up in a black hole.” writes the Buttons Crew. I ask: what is the alternative? A party with Red Bull in the Griessmühle? A beverage brand whose profits flow directly into racist projects?”