German cities prepare for October 7 anniversary demonstrations as police review Berlin march
Police and municipal authorities across Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt are reviewing security plans as pro-Palestinian groups and Jewish community organizations prepare demonstrations marking three years since the 7 October 2023 attacks.
Security reviews in Berlin
Berlin authorities are reviewing a planned pro-Palestinian demonstration scheduled for Wednesday, 7 October 2026, marking three years since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. An individual registered the march for 150 participants under the official title "Down with Colonialism", while organizers advertise it online with the slogan "Until total liberation". Promotional materials display a bulldozer breaking through a security fence, accompanied by text in German, English, and Arabic describing the 2023 assault as a beacon of steadfastness. The Berlin State Criminal Police Office (LKA) launched an investigation into the poster on suspicion of approving criminal offences and glorifying violence. The route is scheduled to begin at 18:00 at Schlesisches Tor, proceeding along Skalitzer Straße and Kottbusser Tor to Hermannplatz. Left-wing networks promoting the event include Global South United, the Alliance of Internationalist Feminists, Palestinians and Allies, and Young Struggle. In 2025, Berlin police banned a similar 7 October gathering after organizers circulated posters with paragliders, though hundreds gathered in Mitte before officers contained the crowd. A separate rally titled "United for Palestine" has been advertised online for Saturday, though no registration has been filed.
Official criticism in Hamburg
In Hamburg, Antisemitism Commissioner Anna von Villiez condemned a pro-Palestinian demonstration scheduled for Wednesday at 18:00 on Hachmannplatz. Organized by Thawra Hamburg and the Hamburger Bündnis Palästina, the assembly is registered under the title "Three Years of Genocide". Von Villiez criticized organizers for omitting any reference to the victims and hostages of the 7 October 2023 Hamas assault, in which attackers killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip.
That is not only a relativization of the terrorist attack, it is a deliberate provocation toward the Jews in our city and it is an attack on commemoration.
Von Villiez also criticized promotional graphics that display the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River without demarcating Israel. She noted that the anniversary remains a day of mourning and remembrance for Jewish communities.
On this day, we commemorate the 1,200 women, men and children who were murdered on 7 October 2023 by terrorists of Hamas and their allies, the 251 abductees and all those whose lives have since been marked by loss and fear.
Competing events in Frankfurt
Frankfurt will see both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on Wednesday. A silent procession organized by the Jewish Community and the German-Israeli Society will start at 17:00 at Opernplatz, moving toward the Westend Synagogue to express solidarity with Israel and Jewish life.
- Pro-Israel silent march begins at Opernplatz toward Westend Synagogue
- Pro-Palestinian march scheduled from Schlesisches Tor to Hermannplatz
- Pro-Palestinian rally begins at Hauptwache under Gaza freedom slogan
- Pro-Palestinian gathering scheduled at Hachmannplatz
At 18:00, pro-Palestinian activists plan to gather at the Hauptwache under the motto "Gaza cries for freedom" to commemorate victims of the subsequent war in Gaza, where casualty estimates range between 70,000 and 100,000. In previous years, city authorities attempted to prohibit pro-Palestinian demonstrations on 7 October, but judicial rulings overturned those bans.
