Further demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza were held in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Munich on Sunday, with one ending with clashes.
Police were on hand to make sure all of the rallies went smoothly and intervened in Berlin, as clashes broke out and some demonstrators at a rally in support of Palestine in Berlin on Sunday, throwing stones and bottles at police.
Some 3,500 people came to the Berlin rally, police said. Some tried to break through a police line and set off fireworks.
Police told the rally in the Kreuzberg district that “public safety is at risk,” in an announcement by loudspeaker, saying criminal offences were being committed by people in the assembled crowd.
Some 3,500 people took part in the protest march held under the banner, “Demo against genocide in Gaza,” far more than the 1,000 initially registered.
The rally was expected to draw around 1,000 people and began in the diverse neighbourhood of Kreuzberg before arriving in the district of Neukölln, which has a large Arab community.
A separate pro-Israel protest, titled “Together against the Crimes of Hamas on Israelis and Palestinians. For the Release of Hostages and the End of Hamas Rule in Gaza,” was expected to draw 500 people in the central Mitte district on Sunday.
As the nation prepared to mark a year since the begininng of the war, Ricarda Louk, the mother of the murdered German-Israeli hostage Shani Louk, spoke out about the hostilities.
“What happened on 7 October was an ugly and brutal targeted attack on civilians. I don’t think it’s fair to compare that to war casualties,” she told the news portal web.de News.
She said there are an awful lot of civilian casualties in Gaza. “But Israel didn’t want this war, it was forced on Israel.”
The conflict that began when fighters from the Palestinian Islamist Hamas militia and others invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking up to 250 hostage will be a year old on Monday.
Israel retaliated with massive attacks that have resulted in what the Hamas-run Health Ministry says are more than 41,800 people killed. Hamas does not distinguish between militant and civilian deaths. The figures cannot be independently verified.
Those criticising Israel for it should ask themselves, “How did it start? It all began on 7 October,” Louk said.
Shani Louk, 22 at the time, was abducted during the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups in on October 7, 2023 that triggered the current war.
She was declared dead and in May, the Israeli army said they had found her body.
“You get used to moving on and continuing with your life. But the memory keeps coming back,” Ricarda Louk said.
She said trust in her Arab fellow citizens had been lost to some extent since October 7. But Louk also emphasized, “I’m still an optimist. I hope we can get out of this somehow.”
Meanwhile an unidentified assailant defaced the party headquarters of Germany’s conservative opposition party, the CDU, with graffiti, police said.
The person is said to have scrawled a slogan relating to the conflict on the building in Berlin’s central Tiergarten district. A CDU spokeswoman said that the writing had been taped over so that it could no longer be seen. It was to due be removed on Monday.
Alongside the rallies, prayers and vigils were also taking place until the evening, including in front of the Kreuzberg Synagogue.
Meanwhile in Munich, numerous people gathered in the Bavarian capital for the “365 Days – Munich against Anti-Semitism” memorial event.
Many waved Israeli flags or small banners with the organizers’ logo, a red Star of David with the silhouette of Munich, showing the city’s unity in the fight against hatred, discrimination and anti-Semitism.
The police did not have an exact number of participants shortly after the start, though the organizers were hoping for 8,000 people in advance and wanted to create the largest demonstration against anti-Semitism in the country.
They also called for the release of all hostages, they said. A broad alliance of over 100 different groups from the fields of culture, politics, religion, sports, business and civil society initiatives issued the callout.
A counter-demonstration by a group calling itself “Palestine Speaks Munich” was held within view of the memorial event, under the banner, “365 Days of Genocide.”
Police said well over the 100 people who had registered took part. Some 400 officers were on hand to ensure both events ran smoothly.
