Several thousand Berliners marched through the German capital in solidarity with the victims of the attack on the Halle synagogue, protesting against racism and right-wing extremism.
The attack on the synagogue in German Galle, in which there were 51 people celebrating Yom Kippur, occurred on Wednesday. Suspect, 27-year-old German Steffan B. killed two passers-by and wounded two more. He has confessed and is under arrest. The German authorities called the crime a right-wing extremist anti-Semitic act.
The participants of the Sunday rally went through the city center – from Friedrichstrasse they turned onto Oranienburgstrasse, reached the New Synagogue and completed the rally at about 4 pm (5 pm Moscow time). The organizers were activists of the Unteilbar civic initiative.
The activists of the Omas gegen rechts (Grandmothers against the Right), anti-fascists, LGBT activists stood out in the column. The protesters carried flags of Israel and other Jewish symbols, many carried signs criticizing the right-wing “Alternative for Germany party”, which the political rivals blame for the ideological responsibility for the terrorist attack – the party itself rejects this, considering such statements to be manipulation for political purposes.
The loudspeaker mounted on the car accompanying the column listed the names of the victims of recent xenophobic and racist attacks in Germany. The representative of the Kurdish Federation in Germany also addressed the participants in the march. She sharply condemned the terrorist attack in Halle and criticized the Turkish government for the operation in Syria, calling it also a manifestation of racism.
“AdG (Alternative for Germany) certainly bears some responsibility for this crime”, – told Kerstine, who came to the rally with the sign “Racism is not an alternative. Stop AdG”.
Answering the question of how, in her opinion, it is possible to “stop” AdG, the agency’s interlocutor noted that “new laws are not needed, it is only necessary to implement those that are already against extremism”.
“Representatives of the AdG repeatedly made statements that violated the laws, but this is not enough to ban the party. I don’t think that the party can be banned, it needs a different path”, – she said, adding that one of the options for opponents of the AdG could be to draw attention to hatred statements by party members, “so that people cease to support them in the elections”.
Another participant in the rally, Levi Solomon from the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism, speaking about the problem of right-wing extremism, noted that “there are practically no recipes against terrorism”.
“When such terrorist acts are carried out by one person, it is very difficult to establish. But there were many indicators that could allow us to establish the identity of this person and his intentions in anticipation of the (terrorist attack). Human rights bodies could not do this, it’s very sad”, – he said.
Pointing to the New Synagogue, he continued, adding that “this synagogue is protected”.
“There are policemen there, all kinds of protective devices, the most modern ones. It’s practically impossible to get inside. But there are “soft targets” – simple organizations, say restaurants. They’re practically unprotected. At least at such festive events as Yom Kippur they ( law enforcement agencies) had to put up (protection)”, – Solomon explained.
He noted that, in turn, the Halle synagogue was provided with protective systems through donations from the community and Jews from the United States and Israel.
“The money was donated from America, from Israel, and this door was put on them, which survived the shots. There were all kinds of monitors, cameras, all thanks to donations. But this is a function of the state, the state must do it. If it cannot protect of their citizens, then at least they must make technical forms of protection”, – added Solomon.
Speaking about the rally in Berlin, a representative of the Jewish community of the city noted that, according to his estimates, about 13 thousand people took part in it.
“Of course, a good indicator. People have come and expressed solidarity, but their intention is that they are against racism”, – Solomon concluded in Berlin.