Peace calls in Europe: 500,000 demand an end to the genocide in Gaza!

Peace calls in Europe: 500,000 demand an end to the genocide in Gaza!

On June 17, 2025, mass demonstrations occurred in several European cities, in which the citizens loudly protested the genocide in Gaza. Around 500,000 people gathered in London, 120,000 in the Hague and 300,000 in Rome. The goal of these protests: to put pressure on the governments to stop the violent escalation in the region. In Germany, the federal government verbally distanced itself from Israel's procedure against the Palestinians, but there were no concrete measures. Despite this rhetoric, arms deliveries to Israel continue to be freely reminiscent of the allegations, the German government provides aid for genocide and to the plans for a "Groß-Israel".

Much is up for debate when it comes to the warlike conflicts in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army has targeted hospitals, including the Al-Awda Hospital in Al-Jabiah, in which patients and staff only had 90 minutes to leave the burning building. According to a report by Amnesty International, this is a "live transmission of genocide". The organization urges protests against the systematic annihilation of the Palestinian people. Here she emphasizes that racism and genocide may not be accepted in any form, regardless of the source.

reactions and allegations

Amnesty International has a decisive impact that criticism of the Israeli government is anti -Semitic. This claim would be contradictory to the fundamental human rights. The organization criticizes discriminatory state action and emphasizes that the accusation is often used to suppress legitimate criticism. Several Israeli governments in particular would have wanted to instrumentalize this accusation in order to discredit non-governmental organizations, UN committees and the International Criminal Court.

The discussion about the human rights situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian areas is also characterized by the problem of perpetrator-victim reversal. Amnesty described Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023 as a war crime, but she realizes that this cannot justify the war crimes of the Israeli army.

It is important that criticism of the actions of a state is not automatically classified as anti -Semitic. In addition, it is clearly discriminatory to blame Jewish people collectively for the acts of the Israeli state. Amnesty's report focuses exclusively on the crimes of the Israeli government and not on the Jewish people as a whole.

the look into the future

In connection with this topic, over 60 human rights organizations, including human rights watch, call on that the UN should ensure in the fight against anti -Semitism that the basic human rights are preserved. In particular, the right to express themselves for the rights of the Palestinians should not be suppressed. One of the greatest fears is that the working definition for anti -Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is misused to suffocate criticism.

The discussion also shows that there are alternative definitions that are receptive to a more open and fairer debate about anti -Semitism in the public sphere. The Jerusalem explanation on anti-Semitism and the Nexus document offer valuable approaches that are in contrast to the existing, potentially abusable definitions.

The upcoming protests and the still loud voices for democracy, human rights and peace are of crucial importance. The invitation to a rally with an open microphone to advance these topics could be the next step in a heavily polarized debate. The world looks down while the situation continues to worsen.

For more information, please visit the reports from rf-news , Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch .