Protests were held on Thursday in Berlin against the far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the German capital. Protesters carried Israeli flags and banners reading “Protect Israel’s democracy,” “No one is above the law, There is no equality without democracy,” “Netanyahu hands off Israeli democracy,” and “Netanyahu, the dictators are not welcome in Berlin,” during the protests where slogans were also chanted against the Israeli prime minister. 

“Stop occupation – Freedom, justice and peace”, the protest against Netanyahu held at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, March 16, 2023 (Photo: Zo Haderech)

Approximately 1,000 people among them Hadash and Communist Party of Israel members — most of them Israelis living in Berlin — gathered at the iconic Brandenburg Gate. “We are here to protest together with other Israelis against the new legal overhaul,” said JTA Israeli student and Hadash activist Nimrod Flaschenberg. “But we also are saying that the deeper problem is the occupation and the oppression of the Palestinian people. And we think you cannot talk about one thing without the other.”

The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, also expressed concern over Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul, saying that “a dismantling of democratic structures would also not be acceptable for the Jewish community outside of Israel”.

Netanyahu arrived in Berlin after protesters attempted unsuccessfully to block his way to Ben-Gurion Airport and held a protest at the terminal. On Thursday, they held their third day of disruption in Israel, while protesters in Germany held a rally against the plan in Berlin.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30893