Europe divided on several fronts
Nations
Against Governments
The Israel-Palestine conflict has cast uncertainty over Europe’s future
French rallies for Palestine
Several major French cities including Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon, and Bordeaux were the scene of huge rallies calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Demonstrators expressed their protest with slogans like “Stop the massacre in Gaza!” and “France must demand an immediate ceasefire”, Figaro reported. According to official estimates, more than 15,000 protestors marched in Paris.
Manuel Bompard, the coordinator of the La France Insoumise party, said that the Marseille protests were attended by at least 1,300 people. Some waved Palestinian flags, while some others carried signs reading “Stop the genocide in Gaza,” “Support for Palestine,” and “Ceasefire”. “This gathering is essential in the face of massacres because what is happening today in Gaza, with over 10,000 killed, is a silent genocide in the eyes of a large part of the international community,” he said.
Last week, Gerald Darmanin, the French Minister of the Interior, asked local authorities to ban protests in support of Palestine. A court in Paris suspended the restriction on Friday, stating that the ban is a “serious, illegal, and overt threat to the right to protest”. This comes while French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that the ban on demonstrations in support of Palestinians is justified.
Despite efforts to prevent demonstrations in support of Palestinians, university students in the city of Toulouse in southern France condemned the massacre of defenseless Palestinians by the Zionist regime in a gathering on Thursday. Participants in this rally demanded an immediate halt to the bombing of Gaza by the Zionist regime.
No. 10 can’t suppress pro-Palestinians
A massive demonstration was also held in London, the capital of the UK, on Saturday in support of Palestine and against the Israeli regime. Protesters demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Sky News estimated that tens of thousands of people attended the demonstration. The Middle East Monitor described the pro-Palestinian protest in London as one of the largest demonstrations in the history of the UK.
Published images and videos depict fervent Palestinian supporters in London, with news outlets reporting clashes between the police and protesters. The London police announced that 82 protesters were arrested.
The gathering of a large crowd of Palestinian supporters moving from Hyde Park in London towards the US embassy was expected. As a result, streets surrounding the US and Israel embassies in London were reportedly closed by the Metropolitan Police to deter potential attacks as some in the crowd were justifiably angered by the staunch support that the Biden administration gave the Zionist regime in the Gaza conflict.
Earlier, British lawmakers had made unsuccessful attempts to convince organizers to postpone Saturday demonstrations as it would have coincided with the Armistice Day — the anniversary of World War I.
Germany bans rallying for Palestine
The New York Times claimed that some European governments have banned demonstrations in support of Palestinians under the pretext of security issues, raising concerns about the violation of civil liberties and freedom of expression in these countries. The newspaper reported that German authorities, under the pretext of combating anti-Semitism — which critics believe is a discriminatory act — have prevented demonstrations in support of Palestinians.
The New York Times added that ever since Hamas attacked the Israeli regime, which was consequently met with the bombardment of Gaza, governments across Europe are struggling to manage the impact of this conflict in their affiliated countries. Some, under the guise of security concerns, have imposed strict restrictions on demonstrations in support of Palestine and even banned them altogether. In Germany, the prohibitions are much stricter than in other European countries. However, many people in immigrant communities in Germany, including Arabs, say these restrictions are not only a violation of the freedom of expression but also a discriminatory act.
In recent weeks, the city of Hamburg in Germany banned holding demonstrations in support of Palestine. In Berlin, authorities instructed schools not to allow students to wear keffiyehs or use the Palestinian flag or its colors. Berlin police said they had prevented more than half of the 41 demonstrations that were planned to show solidarity with Gaza, some of which were deemed to “arouse the sentiments” of Palestinian residents. Even mourning for Gazan children killed by Israel was restricted. Some of the permitted demonstrations were banned from chanting slogans such as “Stop the war” or “Palestine must be free”.
Some critics argue that the prohibitions that the German government has imposed on demonstrating in support of the people of Gaza not only increase animosity towards immigrants but also boost the popularity of the far-right party — Alternative for Germany. Surveys show that the party is currently ranked second in popularity.
The planned amendment to the citizenship law in Germany includes a clause that prohibits granting citizenship to individuals convicted of racism or anti-Semitism. Such actions have raised concerns about freedom of expression in Germany, with many worried about their citizenship rights or employment given the broad definition of anti-Semitism by German authorities.
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus, a writer and one of the signatories of a protest letter against the German government’s ban on pro-Palestinian rallies, said, “Germany, with these actions, is fueling anti-Semitism in the immigrant community. This will make it difficult for them to combat domestic anti-Semitism, which is much more dangerous than demonstrations in support of Palestine.”