‘Antisemitism has no place in Germany,’ says Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
During pro-Palestine protests on Wednesday evening in Berlin, 65 police officers were injured and 174 people were temporarily detained after events turned violent.
“According to the current state of affairs, colleagues have been injured in the past hours due to stones, burning liquids and acts of resistance, among other things,” Berlin police said in a statement. “However, bystanders and persons who offered opposition have also been injured.”
The demonstrations came the day after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, an attack that Israel and Hamas blame each other for carrying out. The ongoing violence in the Middle East — triggered by Hamas militants invading Israeli communities earlier this month and killing more than 1,000 people, which prompted retaliatory, deadly strikes from Israel — is sparking fears of a wider regional conflict.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday morning condemned that some people yelled antisemitic slogans at the Berlin protests.
“Antisemitism has no place in Germany, and we will do everything we can to stand against it. We will do this as citizens, as those who bear political responsibility,” Scholz said during a speech in the German parliament.
On Wednesday morning, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in Berlin. Nobody was injured.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, according to German news, underlined that freedom of demonstration is an essential right, “but what is not acceptable is that under the guise of a peace demonstration, you then subsequently incite against Jews.”
Source: Politico