Police in Berlin announced a ban on Palestinian Arab terrorist flags and violent statements against Israel during Monday’s May Day demonstrations, JNS reports.
The move followed a march which took place in the city during Passover, and in which the mainly German Muslim participants chanted “Death to Jews” and “Death to Israel.”
Local law enforcement issued a statement on Saturday outlining restrictions related to the annual International Workers’ Day demonstrations, saying it is “forbidden to shout/utter and display slogans that are defamatory towards parts or individuals of an ethnic or religious group, incite hatred or impair the human dignity of others, as well as defamatory statements.”
Also prohibited were statements that “propagate the annihilation of the State of Israel and/or its inhabitants or are otherwise likely to convey a readiness to use violence”, according to JNS.
Participants in the protests were banned from promoting the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT, the “Party of Liberation”) and Hamas as well as organizations related to these terrorist groups.
“Identification marks, symbols or emblems of these organizations may not be shown on flags and banners or on the clothing of the participants or in any other way,” the statement read.
Samuel Salzborn, the antisemitism commissioner for the city-state of Berlin, told JNS that the April 8 protests in the neighborhoods of Kreuzberg and Neukölln were antisemitic.
The commissioner said that he requested that the public prosecutor’s office investigate any violations of criminal law during the gathering.
In 2021, Germany’s government agreed to ban the flag of the Hamas terrorist organization, following several antisemitic incidents that occurred in Germany during anti-Israel rallies.
A year earlier, Germany issued a federal order outlawing Hezbollah in the country, and also took enforcement measures under the provisions of the order.
The order prohibits any contact with members of the organization and does not differentiate between its various arms - military, political or social. According to the order, any use of the organization's symbols and the organization's assets in Germany, if any, would be banned.
Subsequent reports indicated that Germany received intelligence information from Israel that helped formulate the declaration that Hezbollah will be outlawed.