Commemorations and vigils will be held across Germany on Monday as the world commemorates the first anniversary of unprecedented terrorist attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Activists gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin to read out the names of 1,170 people murdered and 255 kidnapped in Israel on October 7, 2023.
The commemoration began at 5:29 a.m. (03:29 GMT) as part of a coordinated effort that took place simultaneously in dozens of cities around the world and marked the moment the attack began.
Organizers said the purpose of the event was to “share the sorrow of the Jewish people, stand in solidarity with the Jewish state regardless of current politics, and raise voices against anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.”
Later, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to speak at an interfaith service at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.
Participants then plan to walk in silence to the nearby Jewish Community Center. An additional commemorative event will take place in front of the building.
In Hamburg, an evening commemoration ceremony is planned at the Hohe Weide Synagogue, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz will also make a statement.
Further services are planned in many other cities, including the Ohel Jakob Synagogue in Munich.
Several pro-Palestinian rallies will also be held in cities across the country, including in Frankfurt, where a rally was due to take place after a court overturned a ban imposed by the city.
Another large demonstration is expected in Berlin, where a protest march against the war in Gaza – which broke out after the October 7 attacks – was halted on Sunday after some of the 3,500 participants clashed with police.
Authorities in the German capital deployed more than 2,000 officers on Monday in an attempt to secure the vigils and keep the peace.
Hamas’ attack on communities and a music festival in southern Israel is considered the worst mass attack on Jews since Nazi-era crimes.
About a hundred hostages kidnapped by Hamas are believed to remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip, although it is unclear whether they are still alive.
Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, leading to international condemnation and fears of a regional escalation, which has only been exacerbated by the Israeli army’s recent offensive in Lebanon and a barrage of rockets fired at Israel from Iran.
Scholz says Germany stands behind Israel
The aftermath of October 7 has proven particularly sensitive in Germany, which sees Israel’s security as a “reason of state” – a phrase that refers to Berlin’s historical responsibility to the Jewish community and the State of Israel after the Holocaust.
However, the country’s significant Muslim minority and pro-Palestinian activists have been alienated by what they see as the German government’s failure to address the suffering of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Scholz called for a ceasefire in the Middle East on Monday in Hamburg and expressed his solidarity with Israel.
“Dear friends in Israel, we sympathize with you… we are on your side,” the chancellor said at the opening of a conference on sustainable development in the northern German city.
Scholz also highlighted the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza after a year of war.
“Nothing good can come from the daily experience of violence and hunger,” the chancellor said. “That is why the federal government is calling for a ceasefire, for the release of hostages, for a political trial, even though that now seems further away than ever.”
The only solution to the conflict, according to Scholz, is a two-state solution, so that “Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side permanently.”
But that can only be achieved if a wider escalation in the region is prevented, the chancellor argued, calling on the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and its backers in Iran to end their attacks.
Jewish communities report anti-Semitic incidents
In a survey published Monday to mark the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, Germany’s Central Council of Jews found that more than 40% of the country’s Jewish congregations have recorded anti-Semitic incidents in the past year.
In total, 42% of Jewish communities have recorded incidents of anti-Semitism, such as graffiti, insults or threatening phone calls.
“Jewish communities in Germany are in a state of emergency,” the council said.
The organization received information about the consequences of the war in Gaza from 98 of the 105 municipalities it represents.
About 82% said it has become less safe to live openly as a Jewish person in Germany, an increase of four percentage points from the last survey in late 2023.
The rally in Frankfurt will continue after the court ruling
In Frankfurt, city authorities initially banned a demonstration scheduled to take place on Monday under the title “For a Free Palestine – Victory Belongs to Justice,” but the Hesse Administrative Court said there was no evidence it would pose an immediate threat to public safety forms. .
The court said the organizer has previously organized peaceful demonstrations and that police could respond to isolated violations during the march through prevention or prosecution.
Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef called the demonstration an “extreme provocation.”