The Central Council of Jews in Germany fears violent riots in the protests planned for Saturday in several German cities. There are calls for this in various social media, according to a letter marked as confidential that is available to the Catholic News Agency (KNA).
Youth protests are planned in at least 23 cities on Saturday for more investment in education and climate protection, for a fairer distribution of burdens and against rising living costs and compulsory military service.
The social media posts from which the Central Council quotes talk about protests “like in France”, “No rules” or a “Purge”. The Central Council classifies the rhetoric used as “highly violent”. “Existing analyses” pointed to networks between pro-Palestinian actors in Germany and criminal groups in France.
According to the Central Council, the French Jewish security service SPCJ came to the conclusion that the riots in France were not primarily aimed at Jewish objects. “Nevertheless, due to the combination of the general willingness to use violence, the infiltration of the protests by pro-Palestinian extremists and the connection to criminal structures, there is a significant risk that the situation will turn into anti-Semitic violence,” the letter says, without naming a closer source for this risk assessment.
According to the North Rhine-Westphalian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, actors from the left-wing extremist spectrum and from foreign-related extremism are also calling for protests. The Stuttgart police reported on Tuesday that there were indications of possible disruptions during the demonstrations. “The level of intensity to be expected is currently the subject of ongoing clarification.”
The “Gen Z Regulates” initiative, which is organizing some of the demonstrations planned on Saturday, writes on its website that it stands for all people, regardless of origin, skin color, religion, sexuality, disability or political opinion. “We want to bring people together instead of letting ourselves be pitted against each other.” She also emphasized that her protest was peaceful without exception. “Violence against people or things contradicts everything we stand for.”
The German Police Union (DPolG) has meanwhile called for tough action in the event of attacks on emergency services. The union said it was relying on peaceful protests. However, strict action will be taken to enforce the right to assembly and to “ensure the safety of all those involved”.
The DPolG is particularly critical of the risk that violent left-wing extremist or Islamist groups could infiltrate the protests. Mobilization via social networks and the overlap with Halloween posed additional challenges for the security authorities. Thousands of police officers would be deployed to secure the demonstrations and protect the right to assembly enshrined in the Basic Law.
The DPolG federal chairman Heiko Teggatz pointed out that more than a thousand emergency services were injured in the riots during the student protests in France and Italy. If “scary left-wing extremists or Islamists” use Halloween “to commit crimes while disguised,” the emergency services would “take tough action,” emphasized Teggatz.
If “conventional command and operational resources as well as water cannons” are no longer sufficient in the event of serious escalations, “more extensive operational resources would also have to be discussed,” demanded the DPolG boss. The states are called upon to “equip their police forces accordingly and prepare them for the increasing challenges”. The protection of people in uniform must be “the top priority”.
Teggatz also called for enough prosecutors and judges to be put on standby duty at the weekend and for "quick and harsh punishments to follow in the event of excessive violence against emergency services."
