Thousands of people joined vigils in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while in Paris and other cities, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanded a cease-fire and relief for people in the besieged Gaza Strip. Those gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants' Oct. 7 attack in Israel, the AP reports. "It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today—in our country of all places," President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd, estimated at 20,000 by organizers and 10,000 by police. "Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions, is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a synagogue in the city of Dessau and said he was outraged by the recent upsurge in antisemitism. Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the Star of David painted on doors and walls, and two Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in Berlin last week. "Here in Germany, of all places," Scholz said, vowing that "our 'never again' must be unbreakable." At a vigil attended by thousands in London's Trafalgar Square, participants held posters bearing images of hostages and the missing. They chanted "bring them home," falling silent as the names were read aloud. Speakers from the UK's governing Conservative Party and opposition Labor Party addressed the crowd. Communities Secretary Michael Gove said Hamas' Oct. 7 attack was an act of "unparalleled evil and barbarism," adding, "We must stand together against it."
Sunday's rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators—100,000 by police estimates—marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, launched in response to Hamas' brutal incursion. Hundreds of people rallied outside the United Nations offices in Geneva on Sunday to demand the hostages' release. Waving mostly Israeli, but also Swiss and German, flags the demonstrators held aloft signs that read "Children aren't bargaining chips" or T-shirts with the words #SetThemFree. Elsewhere in Switzerland, about 4,500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in Lausanne, police said. A crowd estimated at 12,000 by police gathered outside European Union institutions in Brussels for a rally organized by groups including trade unions, Christian organizations, and Arab solidarity movements.
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In France, which has Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, thousands in Paris demanded Israel stop its strikes on Gaza. Organizers—including Palestinian and Muslim groups, peace associations, workers' and students' unions, and leftist political parties—condemned Hamas' attack on civilians, urged the militant group to release all hostages, and called for an end to Israel's assault. Several thousand people took to the streets in Sarajevo, with some comparing the situation in Gaza with the suffering of Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslims, during the country's 1992-95 war. More than 3,000 people attended a "Freedom for Palestine" rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to help. "Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions," Munir said.
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