Silent march in Frankfurt: “Hate shows its ugliest face”

Crying eyes, Israeli flags, thoughtful faces: Around 700 people marched silently through the streets of Frankfurt am Main on Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas. The march led from Opernplatz to the Westend Synagogue, where the event ended. The Jewish community, the German-Israeli Society and other initiatives called for the event. With around 7,000 members, the Frankfurt Jewish community is the second largest in Germany. The Westend is considered the center of Jewish life in the city.

During the march, in addition to a message of solidarity from the exiled Iranians, only Michel Friedman, journalist and former vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, spoke. In front of the Westend Synagogue he said: "On October 7th, hatred showed its ugliest face. It tried to dehumanize Jews and turn them into objects." Hamas repeated what the Nazis once did: “Massacring Jewish people, torturing them, raping women, hitting babies against walls.” She documented these actions with pride.

Friedman warned of a growing number of people who believe that peace for the Palestinians is only possible through the destruction of Israel. Young people also spread such ideas on the Internet. “Anyone who promises peace to the Palestinians if Israel disappears is lying to the world,” he said. Israel stands for the free world – “a world in which people dance, in which young people kiss each other out of love, in which people talk, flirt, discuss and people from all over the world want to live together.”

Friedman also sharply criticized the situation of Jewish children in German schools. As in many places, Jewish schools in Frankfurt are under police protection. It is a “shame” that “professors, deans, senior teachers do not ensure that Jewish children are safe.” It is stressful for the children “to know that someone wants them harm.” The entire city must show solidarity: “You can’t carry on like this.”

Friedman also took aim at the Berlin Left and the anti-Semitism debate. With a view to the Left's possible participation in government in Berlin, he warned of a party "that is entangled and is sometimes aggressively acquiring its votes in Neukölln." With the support of the SPD and the Greens, it could become the governing party. This is a “breaking of a taboo” that makes Jewish life in Berlin “almost impossible.” Israel haters and people who advocated the destruction of the state would then be rewarded “with a government mandate.” This is “unacceptable”.

Friedman called the parallel pro-Palestinian demonstration under the slogan “Stop the Genocide” “barbaric incitement.” According to the police, around 400 people loudly marched to the main train station. The demonstration went off without incident.

In previous years, Frankfurt had banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations on October 7th. However, the administrative court lifted the ban. It reasoned that the date alone did not justify a ban and that the city had not adequately demonstrated that there was a high likelihood of violence. This year the city decided not to impose a ban.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas killed 1,221 people in its attack on Israel. 251 were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip.