German Jewish intellectuals slam ban on pro-Palestine demonstrations

BERLIN (AA) – More than 100 German Jewish intellectuals have criticized the ban on pro-Palestine demonstrations in many German cities including Berlin, local media reports.

“In recent weeks, state and city governments across Germany have banned public gatherings with suspected pro-Palestinian sympathies. These repressions also punish demonstrations such as ‘Youth against Racism’ and ‘Jewish Berliners against Violence in the Middle East’,” the Berlin-based daily Tageszeitung reported.

Police have provided no credible defense for these decisions. Virtually all of the cancellations, including those banning gatherings organized by Jewish groups, were justified by police in part because of the “immediate threat” of “inflammatory, anti Semitic shouts,” it added.

The intellectuals stressed that these allegations served “to suppress legitimate and non-violent political expression, which may include criticism of Israel.”

“Attempts to resist these arbitrary restrictions are met with indiscriminate brutality. Authorities have targeted people with migrant backgrounds across Germany, harassing, arresting and beating civilians, often under the flimsiest of pretexts,” an open letter stated.

“Berlin’s Neukoelln district, which is home to large Turkish and Arab communities, is now a police-occupied area. Armored vans and armed riot police patrol the streets, looking for spontaneous shows of support for Palestinians or symbols of Palestinian identity,” it added.

The German Jewish intellectuals rejected what they called “pretext for racist violence and express our full solidarity with our Arab, Muslim and especially Palestinian neighbors.”

Last week, the German government defended the controversial ban on anti-Israel demonstrations amid mounting public criticism from the German-Palestinian community.

Everyone in Germany is allowed to express their opinions freely and demonstrate peacefully, said Deputy Interior Minister Rita Schwarzeluehr-Sutter in a speech to the parliament in Berlin.

“But it has a very thick red line: There is zero tolerance for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incitement. There is zero tolerance for violence,” she added.

If necessary, there will also be “tough police intervention,” Rita Schwarzeluehr-Sutter warned.

Palestinian activist groups have vowed to protest against the demonstration ban in Germany.

The ban by the police violates our constitutional rights, wrote ‘Palestine Campaign Initiative’ group on its website.

“We will take legal action to enforce our rights in the future,” it said.

The war on Gaza, which has been under Israeli bombardment and a blockade since October 7, has resulted in over 5000 Palestinian lives being lost, most of them women and children.