The European Union’s human rights commissioner has accused Germany of unfairly restricting the rights of pro-Palestinian protesters, describing the government’s approach as “disproportionate” and a violation of freedom of expression.
In a report published on Wednesday, Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, criticised Berlin’s use of hate-speech laws to limit demonstrations critical of Israel. The report found that German authorities had misused claims of anti-Semitism to ban pro-Palestinian slogans and Palestinian flags from certain rallies, and in some cases, to prohibit protests outright.
Police have used excessive force against anti-Israel protesters, the report stated, while “freedom of expression has been restricted disproportionately, regarding debates on Palestinian rights or legitimate criticism of the Israeli government.”
Since 2017, Germany has endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. This definition lists “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour” and “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” as examples of anti-Semitic speech, a classification that has drawn criticism for potentially stifling legitimate political discourse.
The report also highlighted a rise in both anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred in Germany, calling on authorities to address both issues without attributing anti-Semitism solely to the Muslim community. The German government disputes this, citing data that shows “antisemitic attitudes are significantly more prevalent among people of the Muslim faith.”
Despite these concerns, the EU has never criticised Germany for restricting the speech rights of nationalist political figures. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, has classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a “confirmed right-wing extremist” organisation. An AfD politician has been convicted for sharing the government’s own migrant crime statistics, and members of Germany’s ruling centre-right and opposition centre-left parties have called for a ban on the organisation.
The EU has also played a leading role in silencing pro-Palestinian voices. Journalist Huseyin Dogru, a German of Turkish descent, was sanctioned by the European Council last year. The council argued that Dogru’s reporting on the Israel-Palestine conflict had sown “ethnic, political and religious discord” in Germany and therefore supported “destabilising activities by Russia.” German authorities agreed, stripping Dogru and his wife of healthcare coverage and freezing their bank accounts.
The report calls on the German government to “ensure that the fight against all forms of hatred fully respects the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression for all members of society.”
