Women and allies in the German capital Berlin marched on Saturday, March 8th for International Women’s Day, to protest in solidarity with women around the globe facing repression. Peak attendance at the march was reported at 3,700 protesters, with a strong presence of pro-Palestinian activists.
Women and allies in the German capital Berlin marched on Saturday, March 8th for International Women’s Day, to protest in solidarity with women around the globe facing repression. Peak attendance at the march was reported at 3,700 protesters, with a strong presence of pro-Palestinian activists. The protest was organized by the Berlin-based Alliance of Internationalist Feminists, a group describing themselves as an ‘anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and anti-patriarchal Alliance of queer-feminists’.
Due to Germany’s staunch public support for Israel, thousands have protested the country’s support for Israel amidst the war in Gaza, as well as the monitoring of pro-Palestinian language on social media platforms and at protests. This has led to a rise of police violence in the country, particularly at these marches, with The Internationalist Women’s Protest also having faced a strong crackdown by German police. Videos from the march show German police violently breaking up the protest, seemingly striking individuals wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags. The march was forcefully shut down and several protesters were arrested.
The organisers of the march have since released a statement, stating that “Instead of protecting fundamental rights, the German authorities weaponized police forces to silence dissent and criminalize those resisting oppression.”
Over the last year, German media has often vilified pro-Palestine protesters, referring to them as ‘Israel-hasser’, the German term for ‘Israel Haters’, and labeled the marches as ‘Israel-hass-demos', German for ‘Israel-hate marches'. This incident is part of a larger trend of crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests and speech across the country, especially in Berlin. Authorities have also prohibited Arabic chants and speeches at demonstrations, citing "public security," and often use force to break up protests.
Sources:
Tagesspiegel (2025) Demonstrationen am Frauentag: 28 Festnahmen bei Protesten in Kreuzberg – Video zeigt Schläge der Polizei. Available at: https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/demonstrationen-am-frauentag-28-festnahmen-bei-protesten-in-kreuzberg--video-zeigt-schlage-der-polizei-13331515.html (Accessed: 10 March 2025).
Dropsite News (2025) Germany election, AfD, Israel-Palestine, free speech. Available at: https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/germany-election-afd-israel-palestine-free-speech?r=iqold&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web (Accessed: 10 March 2025).
Middle East Monitor (2025) German police crack down on pro-Palestine International Women’s Day march. Available at: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250309-german-police-crack-down-on-pro-palestine-international-womens-day-march/ (Accessed: 10 March 2025)
Bild (2025) Verbotene Parolen bei Israel-Hass-Demo am Frauentag, Available at: https://www.bild.de/regional/berlin/verbotene-parolen-bei-israel-hass-demo-am-frauentag-in-berlin-67ccbf5cb06bda52c536a0a6 (Accessed: 10 March 2025)