Palestine Solidarity | Gaza War: 40,000 at Palestine Demonstration in Berlin

The Platz der Republik is packed. The opening rally of the "United 4 Gaza" demonstration is taking place on Saturday in the area in front of the Reichstag. Barely an hour after the official start, many people are still joining. Palestinian flags are everywhere, as are red flags with various logos. At least 10,000 demonstrators have come to the rally; according to the organizers, the number will grow to 40,000 over the course of the afternoon. Most of them are wearing red clothing.

The demonstration was initiated by two individuals, Abed and Amin. "We are two Palestinian voices from Gaza and the West Bank – united by the pain, the knowledge, and the responsibility to speak out when others remain silent," they stated in a press release. Numerous organizations have joined the call. The demonstration was largely organized by groups from the Palestinian community. Many sections of the Left Party and communist and anti-fascist groups called for it. But the climate movement and numerous other civil society groups also mobilized. "We are overwhelmed by the positive response to our demonstration," says initiator Amin.

Read the commentary on the topic: Together against the war – Tens of thousands demonstrate in Berlin against the deaths in Gaza. Raul Zelik hopes this is a start.

Ali, who does not want his full name used in the newspaper, says it's unusual that the demonstration is so large. He stands at the edge of a group carrying red flags. Like him, almost everyone wears a keffiyeh. The mobilization, which extends beyond the left-wing and pro-Palestinian scene, has been very successful, he says. "My mother is also here somewhere at the demonstration." His father received the flyer for the demonstration at the mosque.

"United 4 Gaza" aims to "create a broad social platform to jointly send a strong, humane message against genocide, displacement, and German state complicity." This is stated in the appeal. Among other things, the alliance demands an immediate end to German support for "genocide, apartheid, and occupation," "respect for international law and international legal measures," and the decriminalization of Palestinian voices, symbols , and protests.

Andreas, who also doesn't want his full name published in the newspaper, is at the demonstration with his children. "We're demonstrating here with many people whose families were affected by the genocide." He sarcastically says the demonstration is large enough that the police can't just randomly beat people up. "The Hamburg barriers are telling." By this, he refers to the barriers that enclose the entire Platz der Republik. "You have to climb over riot control infrastructure to get to the demonstration." And: "There is special police treatment for pro-Palestine demonstrations."

"You have to climb over riot control infrastructure to get to the demonstration."

Demo participant Andreas

Last week, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Michael O'Flaherty, expressed concern about the German authorities' handling of demonstrations against the Gaza war. In a letter to Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), he criticized restrictions on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression during protests. Referring primarily to events in Berlin, he criticized bans on speech at demonstrations , excessive police violence, and bans on demonstrations. O'Flaherty called on the German government to refrain from any measures that discriminate against people on the basis of their political opinion, religion, nationality, or migration status.

According to police reports in the evening, several crimes were reportedly committed during and towards the end of the demonstration, including propaganda offenses and violent crimes, including attacks on police officers. During the more than 50 arrests, some of them required the use of force, resulting in several injured people being taken to hospitals. Videos of a brutal arrest were circulated on social media, during which the arrested person reportedly lost consciousness.

The person who organized the demonstration told "nd" that the demonstration was harassed in advance. Among other things, one of the initiators, Amin, was banned from participating. "He successfully sued against this, but at the end of the demonstration he was arrested anyway – one of countless examples of the criminalization of Palestine solidarity in Germany." Overall, however, there was significantly less police violence than at other demonstrations.

The spokesperson described the demonstration as a "huge success." It is certainly one of the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations since 2023. "We managed to bring the resistance against genocide, against apartheid, occupation, and illegal land theft to the streets and break the silence." With agencies