Individuals in a left-wing protest camp within the western German metropolis of Frankfurt have been accused of anti-Semitism after an altercation with Jewish counterdemonstrators over the Gaza battle.
Police within the metropolis stated three members of the Jewish neighborhood had been hit with paint bombs on the sting of the protest camp in a Frankfurt park on Friday afternoon.
“Initially, there was a verbal altercation between members within the gathering and one other group that was not collaborating within the gathering, regarding the present battle within the Center East,” the police stated.
Because the altercation continued, they stated members of the protest System Change Camp emptied tubes of paint “within the course of the opposite group of individuals.”
Three individuals had been hit with the paint, they added. The Frankfurt police have filed legal costs and are investigating for property injury. In addition they introduced that they’d improve their presence across the protest camp.
Individuals within the camp reported a special model of occasions, nevertheless.
Some members had been crushed and kicked previous to the altercation, they stated, main them to throw paint on the assailants.
“The organizing group of the camp regrets the incident and distances itself from all types of violence directed at individuals in accordance with its crimson traces,” organizers stated in a press release.
Some 1,000 members are collaborating within the tent camp in a park in northern Frankfurt, which is about to stay in place till August 26. In accordance with the organizers, the camp goals to create an area for encounters, networking, additional training and discussions.
“We’re pushed by the will for a very good life for everybody in a spirit of solidarity and intact ecosystems,” the organizers stated.
The camp had already led to tensions, after opponents hung photos of Israeli hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on the park fences. The camp members eliminated the posters, prompting accusations of anti-Semitism.
Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef condemned the incident: “Everybody in our metropolis is free to specific their opinion, however we is not going to tolerate anti-Semitic violence and incitement.”
Josef thanked the police for his or her fast response. Inexperienced Celebration representatives within the metropolis council have known as for penalties “as much as and together with the dissolution of the camp.”
Masked members of the “System Change Camp” for local weather justice sit in Grueneburgpark in entrance of a tent with a poster studying “All eyes on Gaza” hooked up to it. Arne Dedert/dpa
