Christians Form Human Chain to Shield Munich Synagogue from Anti-Israel Protest

by Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – In a powerful act of solidarity and defiance against rising antisemitism, several hundred people, including around 750 Christians, formed a human chain around Munich’s main synagogue on Friday evening as a large and aggressive pro-Palestinian protest marched past, chanting anti-Israel slogans and glorifying Hamas terrorism.

The protest, organized by the group Palestine Speaks under the slogan “Stop the Genocide. Free Palestine,” was controversially granted permission to pass directly in front of the Jakob Synagogue at Jakobsplatz–coinciding with the start of Shabbat services. Protesters shouted, “Death to the IDF,” “Zionists are fascists,” and “There is only one state: Palestine,” while waving Palestinian flags and labeling hostages held by Hamas as “war criminals.”

Holocaust survivor Charlotte Knobloch, former mayor Christian Ude, and other civic leaders addressed a nearby rally at St. Jacob’s Square, denouncing the rally’s timing and route as an act of intimidation. “You give us courage,” Knobloch told the crowd, expressing gratitude to the human chain participants. She later told Süddeutsche Zeitung that authorities should never have allowed the protest near the synagogue during sacred hours.

Munich Police deployed 150 officers–including special support and mounted units–and erected barricades to safeguard the area. But law enforcement wasn’t the only line of defense. Civilians from across the city, led by the groups München ist Bunt (“Munich is Colorful”) and Grandmothers Against the Right, organized the human chain under the slogan “Protect Our Synagogue.” On social media, they urged citizens to “join the human chain against antisemitism.” A local musician sang songs of unity, while Sister Gisela, a Catholic nun, stood in the chain wearing a yellow hostage pin on her habit and declared, “Standing by our Jewish brothers and sisters is the least we can do.”

Despite their peaceful presence, demonstrators at the protest dismissed the chain as a “staged performance” by “friends of Zionists,” even accusing those defending the synagogue of trying to “buy their freedom” from the guilt of the Holocaust.

The Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Antisemitism condemned the protest as glorifying “Hamas terror as ‘Palestinian resistance'” and reported that Israeli, German, and French hostages were slandered as war criminals by protest speakers.

The protest came just days after Palestine Speaks successfully pressured the closure of an Israeli restaurant in Berlin. Gila and Nancy, a project by famed chef Eyal Shani and entrepreneur Shahar Segal, canceled its opening after weeks of harassment. “It’s unpleasant, surprising, and infuriating that this backlash is coming from Israelis themselves,” Segal told Ynet, vowing to continue spreading Israeli culture through food.

Germany has seen an alarming rise in antisemitism since Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel. In the first half of 2024 alone, Berlin recorded more antisemitic incidents than all of 2023. Nationwide, the Federal Research and Information Center on Antisemitism (RIAS) recorded 8,627 cases in 2024 so far–nearly double the 4,886 incidents reported the previous year. The Anti-Defamation League also noted a 95 percent year-over-year increase in antisemitic crimes across Germany in 2023.

“These are no longer political demonstrations,” warned Bavaria’s antisemitism commissioner Ludwig Spaenle. “This is hatred against Jews–pure and simple.”

As protests escalate and tensions rise, the human chain in Munich stood as a beacon of hope, proving that in a time of rising darkness, courage and solidarity can still shine.

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