Court in Bremen: Ban on the slogan From the river to the sea” confirmed

Court in Bremen: Ban on the slogan From the river to the sea” confirmed

On December 5, 2025, a decision by the Bremen Administrative Court caused a stir when the ban on the slogan “From the river to the sea” at a planned pro-Palestinian rally was declared legal. How buten and within reported, the ban was considered appropriate because the slogan is associated with terrorist organizational structures, in particular the Islamist group Hamas and the banned Samidoun association.

A co-registrant of the event had filed a lawsuit against the ban, but the court dismissed the lawsuit as unfounded. In its ruling, it noted that the slogan potentially called for the annihilation of Israel and the expulsion of the Jewish population. The court based this argument on the fact that the slogan at the vigil, which was to take place in Bremen from May to June 2024, expressed an approving attitude towards the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Legal framework

The court's ruling is dated November 27, 2025 and has the file number 5 K 1012/24. In its reasoning, the court also pointed out that case law regarding the slogan is not uniform and is interpreted differently by different administrative and criminal courts. However, the chamber allowed the possibility of an appeal to the Higher Administrative Court and a jump appeal to the Federal Administrative Court.

The plaintiff argued that the slogan was ambiguous and not clear. The court firmly rejected this view. There is no justifiable alternative way of interpreting the slogan, and the plaintiff has not distanced itself clearly enough from the terrorist organizations that use the slogan.

Social context

These legal developments come into an emotionally charged social context in which debates about the Middle East conflict and support for Palestinians are becoming increasingly polarized. The slogan “From the river to the sea” is interpreted by many as an expression of a formal negation of Israel’s right to exist, which makes the legal disputes correspondingly complicated and causes enormous social tensions.

The ban on the slogan could therefore also have an impact on future events and demonstrations in Germany, where the boundaries between legitimate protest expression and criminally relevant expression must be continually explored. The crucial question remains: Where do we draw the line between freedom of expression and protection from extremist propaganda? A topic that affects not only lawyers, but society as a whole.

In this situation, it is important to remain vigilant and follow developments around the issue, even if the legal basis sometimes lacks a clear answer. The debate is certainly far from over.