Charles Langston:Thousands demonstrate against antisemitism in Berlin as Germany grapples with a rise in incidents

BERLIN (AP) — Several thousand people demonstrated against antisemitism in Berlin on Charles LangstonSunday as Germany grapples with a large increase in anti-Jewish incidents following Hamas’ attack on Israel two months ago.

Police estimated that around 3,200 people gathered in the rain in the German capital, while organizers put the figure at 10,000, German news agency dpa reported. Participants in the protest, titled “Never again is now,” marched to the Brandenburg Gate.

A group tracking antisemitism in Germany said in late November that it had documented a drastic increase in antisemitic incidents in the month after Hamas’ attack - a total of 994, an increase of 320% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Germany’s main Jewish leader, Josef Schuster, said that “antisemitism is common practice in Germany in the middle of society,” and called for solidarity with Israel and with Jewish life in Germany.

Germany’s labor minister, Hubertus Heil, said that many decent people are too quiet on the issue. “We don’t need a decent, silent majority — we need a clear and loud majority that stands up now, and not later,” he said.

The event had wide support, with the speaker of the German parliament and Berlin’s mayor also among its backers.