Simon Wiesenthal Center Commends Berlin Police on Banning of Pro-Hamas Signs During May Day Demonstrations

May 2, 2023

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is commending the Berlin police who announced a ban on signs supporting Palestinian terrorist organizations and on calling for Israel’s destruction during Monday’s May Day demonstrations.

Instructions posted to the police website on Saturday stressed that “any advertising” for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) or Hamas was banned. They also prohibited any 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.”

The announcement came in the wake of a march in the city during Passover, co-organized by Palestinian NGO Samidoun, where the mainly German Muslim participants chanted “Death to Jews” and “Death to Israel.”

“We hope that this announcement will signal that German authorities will act to stem the chants of death to the Jews and the anti-Semitic hate crimes that inevitably follow on the streets of Berlin and other German cities,” stated Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action.

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).