The Bavarian Administrative Court (BayVGH) announced on Thursday evening The ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Munich was lifted and an urgent request from the organizer of a meeting on the topic of “Human rights and international law also for Palestine” was granted. The event was therefore allowed to take place from 6:30 p.m., but initially only around 20 to 30 people came, later the number rose to around 60. The meeting, at which two Palestine flags were also shown, was peaceful and without disruption, the Munich police headquarters announced in the evening. Instead of taking place on Marienplatz as announced, it took place on Odeonsplatz; the city changed the meeting location after the court order.
The court granted the urgent application because the danger forecast made by the state capital did not justify a ban on gatherings in the present case. The justification stated that the BayVGH did not ignore the fact that criminal offenses had occurred at other nationwide meetings in connection with the current situation in Israel and Palestine. However, the authority did not sufficiently demonstrate that the meeting reported with 50 participants was comparable to these. The state capital itself stated that there had already been gatherings with the same purpose in Munich, at which there were no or only minor disruptions to public safety.
This Friday, Munich’s Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) will sit down at a table in the morning in the town hall with Benjamin Idriz, the board of the Munich Forum for Islam, and two to three members of the Muslim Advisory Council to discuss the situation in Munich in view of the war in Israel and in the Gaza Strip. The Muslim clerics had urgently called for this meeting because they feared an escalation in Munich. “We are extremely concerned about peace in this city,” 13 imams and representatives of Muslim organizations wrote in an open letter on Wednesday.
Unlike in cities like Berlin, where there were anti-Semitic riots and tough clashes with the police at pro-Palestinian gatherings in Neukölln on Wednesday evening, the situation in the Bavarian capital is still calm. But Benjamin Idriz, the imam known beyond his Islamic community in Penzberg, Upper Bavaria, is watching with concern the plans of Palestinian supporters to drive through the city center with cars and flags on Saturday evening. “I am absolutely relieved that a conversation is now taking place with the mayor; we have to act as a unit,” he says. Reiter confirmed the meeting date but did not want to comment further.
“We imams want to provide clear guidance during Friday prayers in the mosques,” Idriz told the SZ on Thursday. “Any rally that cheers violence is counterproductive to peace and reconciliation.” The imams therefore wanted to warn their community members not to follow the call of the radical network “Samidoun” for a car parade in the city center on Saturday afternoon. “We say we don’t agree with it. We feel our responsibility as Muslim actors,” says Idriz.
A spokesman for the Munich-based European Rabbinical Conference (CER) said they were irritated by the open letter from the Muslim associations. When imams publicly expressed their fear that peace in the city was in danger, “it is a clear sign that they do not have their community under control.” Especially in such heated times, it is the imams’ job to provide peace.
At the memorial event for the victims of the terrorist attack last week in front of the Munich synagogue, Mayor Reiter announced a ban on pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrations to great applause. Since then, these gatherings have been banned.
The police show a strong presence at possible meeting places
An announced gathering on Marienplatz was also banned on Wednesday. This was obviously respected, the square remained empty in the evening and there were no Palestine flags to be seen. On Thursday afternoon, the administrative court received the first urgent application from an organizer of the meeting on the subject of “Human rights and international rights also for Palestine”, which was successful in the evening. The 10th Chamber of the Administrative Court had previously shared the city’s view regarding the danger forecast and rejected the organizer’s application. He then lodged a complaint with the Bavarian Administrative Court.
The police are closely monitoring what is happening, showing a strong presence at possible gathering places, but also effectively using their discretion to avoid violence. She allowed the participants of a protest meeting on Tuesday night in front of the Israeli Consulate General to do so because “the mourning character was clearly recognizable,” according to a police spokesman. The participants dispersed peacefully and quietly.
Idriz announces further actions by the Islamic communities in Munich for reconciliation, and anti-Semitism as a “religious belief” must not grow. The imams also wanted to talk to the mayor about joint actions with the city. Idriz addresses the Jewish-Israeli community in Munich: “Your security is our security. Your suffering is our suffering. Your concern is our concern.”