A protest called for in central Berlin on Tuesday night featuring the paraglider symbol of the October 7th terrorist attacks was banned by German police with just hours to go before it was due to begin.
A major police presence, with 1,500 extra officers deployed, is enforcing an order barring what has been called a pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protest in Berlin on Tuesday night, the anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks.
After the order was made, local police said per Tagesspiegel: “Based on the experiences of the last few days, we must assume that this will be a non-peaceful event.” The ban was reportedly enacted on the grounds that the protest would be glorifying terror group Hamas and “trivialising” terrorism.
Under the terms of the ban, spontaneous protests tonight or last-minute applications for demonstrations would be treated as “substitute events” for the banned march, and would be therefore automatically banned under the same order.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner reportedly said of the decision: “Berlin is not a place where terror, anti-Semitism, and brutal murders may be glorified… The Berlin police are well prepared and have my full support to take robust action against crimes.”
The protest was due to take place on Alexanderplatz, the large central-Berlin square, and large numbers of police vans are pre-deployed ready to deal with any attempts to flout the ban. A remembrance rally for the victims of October 7th already took place in the city today.
Promotional material for the banned protest, including flyers said to be published by radical Berlin students, featured the image of a paraglider, a symbol of the terror attack. On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants flew into Israel using the lightweight aircraft to launch attacks on undefended areas.
Earlier in the day, 10 people were arrested elsewhere in Berlin at a demonstration where the phrase, banned as promoting terrorism under German law, “From the river to the sea – Palestine will be free” was chanted.
A graffiti campaign has also taken place in recent days, with anti-Israel and antisemitic slogans including “Zionazi” appearing on private and public buildings across the city, Die Welt reports. Meanwhile, during the arrest of an alleged vandal of Jewish museum, two police officers were injured while detaining the 54-year-old suspect.
Although Tuesday night’s demonstration in Berlin was banned by police, other European cities took a more permissive approach. The British government asked protesters to consider not marching in London on Tuesday
Writing in The Times of London, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appealed to people not to protest. He said:
On the anniversary of the atrocities of October 7, students are once again planning protests. This is not who we are as a country. It’s un-British to have so little respect for others. And that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred towards Jewish people all over again.
Nevertheless, a protest gathered and at the time of publication numbers several hundred people making its way through central London. The Times reports groups started off from a number of London universities including King’s College and University College. Protests also took place in other cities, again driven by university students.
Read the full article here