Status: 09.10.2023, 19:00 PM
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A solidarity rally is held at Bremen City Hall after the attacks against Israel. © Sina Schuldt/dpa
"Against the terrorist attack" or "We stand with Israel": With placards and speeches, numerous demonstrators have made clear their horror at the attacks on Israel.
Bremen/Hanover - After the large-scale attack by the Islamist Hamas, hundreds of people in Bremen and Hanover have shown their solidarity with Israel. According to police, around 350 people each gathered peacefully at rallies in front of Bremen City Hall and on Steintorplatz in Hanover on Monday.
"We see pictures from Israel that are hard to believe, that cannot be surpassed in cruelty," said Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) at the meeting in Hanover in the early evening. It is important to show solidarity and protect Jewish institutions. "Because it's about making Jews feel safe in Lower Saxony. That's what we want them to feel. We're doing everything we can to make sure they are," Behrens said.
In addition to representatives from state and local politics, the rally in Hanover was also attended by the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Ralf Meister, the Catholic Bishop of Hildesheim, Heiner Wilmer, and the Chairman of the State Association of Jewish Communities of Lower Saxony, Michael Fürst.
Fürst expressed his dismay at the unprecedented attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas. He could not have imagined atrocities on this scale before, the 76-year-old told the German Press Agency in Hanover. "This is about pure terrorism, not freedom for Palestinians."
On Saturday, the Islamist organization Hamas caused the worst bloodbath among civilians since the founding of the Israeli state in a major attack on the Israeli border area. At least 800 people were killed and around 2600,100 others were injured. More than <> Israelis were deported to the Gaza Strip. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, the US and Israel.
Israeli airstrikes in response to the massive attack killed more than 558 people and injured more than 2800,<> in the Gaza Strip, according to the country's health ministry.
In Bremen, Prime Minister Andreas Bovenschulte took part in the rally at noon. "We stand behind Israel and the people of Israel without ifs and buts," said the SPD politician. "Anyone who tries to justify such acts is complicit in the deaths of hundreds and thousands of people." The attacks must be stopped immediately.
"For us, there can be no negotiation of Israel's right to exist," Bovenschulte stressed. In a telephone conversation with the mayor of Haifa's twin city, Einat Kalisch-Rotem, he assured Bremen's support. So far, there have been no attacks on Haifa, Bovenschulte said. But the fear is great that this could change at any time. The president of the parliament, Antje Grotheer (SPD), announced that the parliament would pass a resolution this week in support of the Jews.
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Grigory Pantijelev of the Jewish Community of Bremen would also like to see more political support. "German policy towards Israel is cowardly. It is also hypocritical," Pantijelev said. "And now I want us not only to show solidarity, but for action to come." All payments that indirectly financed terror must be stopped. A short time later, the EU announced that it would freeze all development aid payments to the Palestinians for the time being.
Solidarity rallies were also planned in other German cities. At many town halls, such as Bremen, Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven, the Israeli flag was hoisted in solidarity.
According to the Lower Saxony Commissioner for Anti-Semitism, Germany must prepare for a new wave of anti-Semitism. The state and civil society must oppose this in all clarity, said Gerhard Wegner in Hanover. It is of enormous importance to support Jews in Germany "with every possible protection."
The protective measures for Jewish institutions in Lower Saxony and Bremen have been increased, the police said. According to their own statements, the investigators are in close contact with the Jewish communities and other security authorities. Dpa