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German neo-Nazi ‘anti-Zionism’ protest moved away from synagogue

“Freedom for Palestine – Humanity is non-negotiable. Stop Zionism!” was listed as the reason for the demonstration.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

A group of German neo-Nazis who planned to protest on Tuesday in front of a former synagogue in the northern German city of Braunschweig were prevented from doing so by local authorities, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

“Freedom for Palestine – Humanity is non-negotiable. Stop Zionism!” was listed as the reason for the demonstration.

The far-right Die Rechte party organized and promoted the event on social media. They told followers to meet at the intersection of Steinstrasse and Alte Kniehauerstrasse, near a memorial plaque for the former synagogue.

The group did not elaborate as to why they chose the site of a former synagogue to “protest Zionism.”

The original meeting time was 7:33-7:45 P.M. on Tuesday, a 12-minute window representing the 12 years of the Third Reich.

The event sparked outrage among many in Germany, including Christos Pantazis, a German politician from the SPD party.

“Disgusting and repulsive!” he tweeted. “With this targeted provocation, this micro-party reveals its unconstitutional sentiments and should be banned.”

During a meeting on Monday night, Braunschweig municipal authorities formally banned the neo-Nazis from gathering “at that time and place.”

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But despite promises to disperse the event, they granted permission for the group to gather at 8 p.m. at a different location in the city, reported The Algemeiner.

The municipal authorities banned the demonstrators from carrying torches and said they must observe coronavirus social-distancing guidelines.

Less than a month ago, a different neo-Nazi group, the NPD, held a demonstration in Braunschweig that was attended by some 50 people.

In an unrelated incident last Friday, someone hurled a large stone slab and shattered a window in the Essen Jewish Community Center.

Additionally, a stone plaque listing the names of Jewish victims of the Nazis was recently stolen from a Jewish synagogue in Wesel.