“Do not tolerate agitation” – Berlin: “Palestine Congress” dissolved by police

When the man spoke to 250 conference participants, police along with several officers intervened, cut the transmission and temporarily turned off the power. The participants of the meeting responded to this and to the official dissolution of the meeting with loud expressions of dissatisfaction.

There were protests against Congress even beforehand
Several pro-Palestinian groups and initiatives have invited people to the three-day international meeting under the motto “We accuse.” This includes in particular the areas that, according to the security authorities and Berlin’s internal administration, belong to the anti-Israel ‘boycott spectrum’.

The conference, whose exact location the organizers kept secret for a long time and only announced it on Friday, led to protests. An impartial “alliance against anti-Semitic terror” stated that glorification of terror and calls for the destruction of Israel were to be expected. The alliance includes politicians and the Central Council of Jews, which warned a few days ago of a “show of anti-Zionism.”

“Do not tolerate hatred and agitation against Jews”
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) expects authorities to keep an eye on things: “Anyone who spreads Islamist propaganda and hatred against Jews should know that this will be pursued quickly and consistently,” she told the German press agency.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) called it “unbearable” that such a conference took place in the capital. “We will not tolerate anti-Semitism, hatred and agitation against Jews in Berlin. “Therefore, the Berlin police will take strict action if anti-Semitic statements or crimes occur during this meeting,” he announced.

Large-scale operation for the police
The Berlin police had prepared for a major operation lasting several days. According to a spokeswoman, around 900 emergency services were planned for Friday and the same number should be there on Saturday. The police initially plan to deploy around 700 police officers on Sunday. Support came from North Rhine-Westphalia.

A video on Twitter shows the meeting being aborted:

The Berlin police regarded the congress as a public meeting and, as with demonstrations, issued so-called conditions, namely bans. Flag burning, calls for violence against Israel and symbols of terrorist organizations were banned. The police also wanted to be present at the conference with interpreters and limited the number of participants to 250 people. It also ensured free access to the media, after the organizer initially wanted to admit only selected media representatives.

In the afternoon the mood was already good
The event got off to a slow start in the afternoon. In the crowd in front of the building, Palestinian flags were waved and the mood was heated. The organizers only announced the conference location in the morning during a press conference in the Wedding district and on the conference website. In the announcement before the congress and at the press conference, they accused Israel of, among other things, ‘apartheid’, ‘colonialism’ and ‘genocide’ in the Gaza Strip. Germany bears “complicity” because it supplies weapons to Israel.

The unprecedented massacre with more than 1,200 deaths that terrorists from the Islamic Hamas and other groups caused in Israel on October 7 last year was not mentioned at all in the call and was only mentioned at the press conference after repeated requests from journalists. Israel responded to the attack with a large-scale assault on the Gaza Strip. The war has now lasted six months and thousands of civilians have been killed.

There was an anti-congress demonstration in front of the press conference venue. The Berlin CDU faction wanted to drive through the city in a video van all day to mobilize against anti-Semitism. “It is important to show the flag,” said CDU faction leader Dirk Stettner. Berlin SPD domestic politician Martin Matz expressed fears that there could be criminal calls for violence from the congress.