German Minister of the Interior speaks out against antisemitism at annual Al Quds Day marches throughout the country
Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, has spoken out about the use of antisemitic slogans during anti-Israel demonstrations.
Hundreds of protestors took to the streets of Berlin, Hanover and Dortmund for the annual Al-Quds Day march – an Iranian-backed anti-Israel parade held throughout the world – chanting antisemitic slogans and reportedly attacking journalists and the police.
Some of the chants, like “Free Palestine from the river to the sea”, are common features at these demonstrations. The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Video footage posted to social media showed participants in these protests also shouting phrases like “Scheiße Jude!” (“S**tty Jew!”), “Drecksjude” (“dirty Jew”), and “Strike, oh Qassam, don’t let the Zionists sleep.” The latter is a reference to the kind of rocket fired by the genocidal antisemitic terrorist group Hamas at Israeli civilian targets, and Hamas’ military unit – the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades – shares the name of the rocket.
Samuel Salzborn, Professor of Political Science at Justus Liebig University in Gießen and the Antisemitism Officer for the City of Berlin, said: “Antisemitic terror against Israel was backed up with anti-Israel slogans, while at the same time the hatred is directed against all Jews. The core of these assemblies is antisemitism – nothing else.”
Nancy Faeser said: “There is no place in our society for antisemitism. The rule of law must act consistently here. We must never get used to antisemitic insults – no matter from where and from whom they come.”
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