In Berlin, thousands of people took part in a rally against antisemitism and racism today. The protest was a reaction to the latest antisemitic attack in Halle on Wednesday, during which two people were murdered.
Many groups and parties were part of a large demonstration in Berlin today. The movement ‘Unteilbar’ (‘Inseparable’) and the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Antisemitism (JFDA) had organized the event. It took place one year, to the day, after the last big protest of this kind, and four days after a Nazi in the town of Halle murdered two passers-by.
Numerous Groups and Parties Join
The attacker had tried to get into the Synagogue of Halle, in which dozens of Jews were observing their high holiday ‘Yom Kippur’. Had he managed to open the door, he would most likely have murdered far more people. This terror attack has brought Germans to the streets in several cities.
Prominent politicians from the Greens joined the rally, including Volker Beck, who used to be an MP and is still one of the most persistent activists against antisemitism in Germany. From ‘The Left’, Petra Pau and the party’s co-leader Dietmar Bartsch was present. The same applies to members of many other parties, including more conservative ones, and several rabbis.
Borgmann: ‘Antisemitism threatens society as whole’
JFDA member Reinhard Borgmann told The Berlin Spectator, antisemitism did not only threaten Jews, but society as a whole. People who did not tolerate Jews usually did not tolerate members of other minorities either. “We are glad about all of this support. We would have liked to have it earlier and more often”, Borgmann stressed. “But we are glad about anyone who joins us and agrees with us that there is no place for right-wing extremism in Germany.”
The participants of the demonstration were going to cross Berlin’s city center and walk all the way to the city’s New Synagogue at ‘Oranienburger Strasse’. Since the attack in Halle, security was increased for all synagogues and Jewish facilities in Germany.
Note: Our video on this protest is accessible at the top of this page.