What Happens in Berlin When Someone Praises Hamas?

You might ask yourself: What happens in Germany when someone chants for jihad? When they praise Yahya Sinwar and glorify the al-Qassam Brigades, not in private, but loudly and publicly, right outside the Israeli Embassy in Berlin?

I can tell you what happens. But you won’t like the answer.

Because in Berlin, in 2025, the consequences are not prison. Not prosecution. Not even a national outcry. Not even shame.

When Jews in Berlin ask, “Will anyone stand with us this time?” what they hear is a press office politely redirecting them to another department. They hear the police explaining that they couldn’t translate the chants. They hear government officials who once solemnly declared “Never Again” choosing instead “Never Involved.”

Since that blood-soaked day in October 2023, Germany has become a tinderbox of hatred. How many more synagogues must be firebombed? How many more Jewish students must hide their Stars of David at German universities, institutions that have become breeding grounds for Hamas slogans?

You’ve read my work here at The Times of Israel. You know how I write. You know how deeply I believe that Jewish life, especially in Europe, and most of all in Germany, is once again under threat.

The Israeli Embassy, a symbol of Jewish sovereignty and resilience, should be a fortress. Instead, it has become a stage for hatred. Antisemitism didn’t sneak back, it erupted.

After October 7, something cracked. Something old and dark resurfaced. Antisemitism returned not as whispers in corners, but as celebration in the streets. From walls smeared with anti-Jewish graffiti to triangle symbols mimicking Hamas iconography. From university halls filled with propaganda to sweet baklava handed out in Berlin as Israelis were burned alive, if you thought it couldn’t get worse in Germany’s capital, think again.

Because hatred knows no bottom. And its supporters are no longer hiding. They’re academics. They’re influencers. They’re nestled in the leftist bubble. And now, they’re standing outside Israel’s embassy, that is their chosen site.

Love for jihad. Longing for another Intifada. Praise for the al-Qassam Brigades. Cries for a “Palestine without Jews.” “Raise your rifles.” “We are al-Qassam.” This isn’t coded language. It’s open provocation. It’s incitement.

I spoke with officials. I sent formal press inquiries. I documented what was said, what was posted online, what was chanted and filmed, widely, and clearly. And the Berlin Interior Ministry’s response?

“Please direct your inquiry regarding the police deployment during a public assembly to the Berlin police.”

A deployment? An assembly?

This wasn’t just a public gathering. It was a rally for a designated terrorist group. And yet, the authorities acted as if someone had just forgotten to file the right paperwork.

So I asked:

• How does the Berlin Senate assess the fact that Hamas propaganda was broadcast on German soil, without visible consequences?
• Was the Berlin police informed about potential slogans or languages in advance?
• Were translators or audio recorders present on site?
• Are there investigations under §130 StGB for incitement to hatred?
• What concrete steps are being taken to protect Jewish communities from rising Islamist threats?

What I received wasn’t even a perfunctory sentence of sympathy. No, “We take this seriously.” No, “We’re looking into it.” Just a cold redirect. Just another door closing in silence.

Contrast that with the response from Prof. Dr. Samuel Salzborn, Berlin’s Commissioner for Antisemitism. He didn’t dodge. He didn’t waffle.

“These slogans are without doubt antisemitic. They glorified terrorist violence and incited hatred against Israel. And in front of the Israeli Embassy? It was vile and perfidious.”

He told me he had referred the matter to prosecutors. He saw a strong suspicion of criminal conduct. But he also said something that chills the blood:

“These gatherings aren’t spontaneous. They’re organized. Since Hamas and Samidoun were banned in 2023, dozens of smaller groups have taken over their roles. The federal government promised to ban them, too. I’m still waiting. Every single day.”

Salzborn isn’t just angry. He’s sounding the alarm. And no one in power seems to be listening.

From the Central Council of Jews in Germany, its President Dr. Josef Schuster put it plainly:

“Whoever glorifies Hamas and its leaders glorifies their eliminatory antisemitism—a vision of ‘Palestine without Jews.’ Demonstrations like these abuse democratic rights to spread extremism. And the victims are always Jews.”

Read that again.

The victims are always Jews.

Dr. Schuster is calling on courts to stop pretending these are mere protests. They’re not. They are performances of hate.

So what did the Berlin Police have to say? Their official reply?

• No professional Arabic translator was present.
• A lay “language mediator” tried to interpret the chants.
• Due to noise, most slogans were not understood.
• One person was arrested after a media report triggered review.
• No charges of incitement to hatred under §130 StGB were filed.

This is not law enforcement. This is performance. A hollow ritual to calm the headlines, not to protect Jews. How many more warnings do we need? Jewish voices on social media, in synagogues, and on the streets of Berlin are pleading: Disband these hate fests. Deport the ringleaders. Lock up the agitators.

Instead, we get legal debates about “free speech.” We get excuses. We get deflection. This isn’t about nuance. It’s about survival.

Berlin hasn’t felt this dangerous for Jews since the blackest days of German history. And Germany, given its blood-soaked past, has no excuse for letting this hatred fester.

Jews know betrayal, lived through centuries of it. When neighbors turned. When leaders shrugged. When the world watched the ovens glow.

Germany, you are failing us. And a failing grade here doesn’t mean detention. It means death. It means the kind of collapse from which a democracy cannot climb back.

When Jews ask, “Will anyone stand with us this time?” and hear only silence or redirection—it’s midnight on the moral clock.

Berlin’s hate is a spark.
Snuff it out—or watch it spread like wildfire.