Hundreds demonstrate against anti-Semitism in Berlin, stand by Israel

DPA:  Several hundred people demonstrated against anti-Semitism in Berlin on Sunday and showed solidarity with Israel, some five months into the war in Gaza.

Under the banner "Together against left-wing, right-wing and Islamist anti-Semitism - solidarity with Israel," the marchers headed through central Berlin to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe near the Brandenburg Gate.

Many carried Israeli flags or posters showing photos of kidnapped hostages, chanting "Never again is now!" and carried posters saying "Solidarity with Israel."

The rally had 300 attendees according to the German-Israeli Society which organized the event. The Berlin police gave the same figure and said the demonstration ended without incident.

At the end, a driver at a traffic light shouted "child murderer" at the demonstrators. They responded "Free Gaza from Hamas."

The chairman of the German-Israeli Society, Volker Beck, told the rally that a tsunami of anti-Semitism swept across Europe and the world after the terrible massacre by Palestinian Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in Israel. That means it is important to fly the flag and voice dissent, he said.

The Gaza war was triggered by a massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel on October 7.

More than 1,200 people were killed and some 240 taken hostage on the Israeli side. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive in Gaza.

According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, more than 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since the start of the war.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 31,045, the authority said on Sunday, while 72,654 have been injured in the war. The figures cannot be independently verified.

Christoph Soeder/dpa

Christophe Gateau/dpa