Bavaria’s anti-Semitism commissioner Ludwig Spaenle (CSU) has called for a ban on the “protest march” announced for Friday by the “Palestine Speaks” group in Munich. “I call on the responsible authorities to exhaust all legal options to ban the demonstration,” said Spaenle in a press release distributed at midday.
The group is planning a march through downtown Munich that begins and ends at Odeonsplatz. The exact route has not yet been determined. The call on Instagram is illustrated with a fist in Palestinian colors violently breaking chains. The chains bear the Israeli colors.
There was an anti-Jewish attack on a passer-by at a group rally on Monday evening. At the meeting, terrorist attacks were also downplayed as “resistance” and Israel’s right to exist was disputed. When asked about the Hamas terror, the group’s Munich branch wrote on its Instagram account: “The Palestinians have the right to defend themselves.” Such statements may, under certain circumstances, constitute endorsement of crimes, which can be punished with up to three years in prison.
“Palestine Speaks” is close to the BDS movement, which the city council has classified as anti-Semitic, and recently – alongside two other Munich organizations – also supported a call launched by the pro-Palestinian network “Samidoun”. The federal government announced a ban on Samidoun on Thursday. According to observers, Turkish ultranationalists also took part in the meeting on Monday. Chants of “Allahu Akbar!” were heard again and again in front of the Munich town hall, which was illuminated in Israeli colors.
There is still no decision from the Munich District Administration Department (KVR) about the demonstration on Friday. Just like for another pro-Palestinian rally announced for Saturday with 250 participants, registration is still “in progress”. Regarding Monday’s meeting, a KVR spokeswoman said: “If criminal consequences arise subsequently, the KVR will of course take this into account for future similar meetings. Restrictions are then generally possible – as long as they are legally permissible, necessary and proportionate.”