Against the Antisemitic Quds March
Since 2011, the Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin has been involved in activities against the anti-Semitic Quds March in Berlin and other places in Germany. The Quds March is a national day of struggle in Iran, introduced by the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini after the Islamic Revolution. It is celebrated every year in the Islamic Republic of Iran.The central slogans are: ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’. State employees are forced to take part in the central demonstrations. However, the Quds March also serves to promote the goal of conquering ‘Quds’ (Arabic for Jerusalem) and destroying Israel.That is why organisations close to the regime organise Quds marches in their region worldwide. In this way, they carry Islamist and anti-Semitic ideology into their countries. We demand that demonstrations that incite hatred against population groups and anti-Semitism have no place on German streets, and we therefore advocate a ban on the Quds march.
Here you will find some of our activities:
Analysis by Emil Mink of the Quds March in Frankfurt, with a foreword by the mayor Nargess Eskandari Grünberg (2023) (link)
Observation of the Quds March in Frankfurt, 2024 (link to report)
Policy Paper: Assessment of the Quds March in Frankfurt 2024 and demand for a ban (link to paper)
Policy Paper: Assessment of the Quds March in Berlin and demand for a ban (link to paper)
Press Release: Antisemitic Hate Campaign against Israel: Al-Quds Day in Frankfurt
Berlin & Frankfurt, March 25, 2025
The Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin and the German-Israeli Society call on the Frankfurt authorities to ban the antisemitic Quds march, which is scheduled to take place in Frankfurt on March 29, 2025.
Al-Quds Day was established by the Iranian revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. The day of action serves the regime in Tehran and its worldwide networks as a global propaganda tool for mass mobilization against the Jewish state of Israel. Demonstrations for the Quds March have been taking place in Frankfurt since 2015.
“The Quds March in Frankfurt is to be seen as part of the Islamic Republic of Iran's international hate campaign against Israel,” explains Ulrike Becker of the Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin. ”The Al-Quds demonstration is not a legitimate expression of opinion, but an instrument of the Islamist regime to spread hatred and hostility.”
Tibor Luckenbach of the German-Israeli Society in Frankfurt adds: “Speeches and slogans at the Quds March are characterized by antisemitism. Last year, ‘Zionists’ were described as greedy world-eaters who exploit the riches of the world and the labor of the people and drive humanity from massacre to massacre. These are antisemitic ideas that pose a threat to Jewish and Israeli people and institutions. Politicians must take decisive action against this.”
This year's Quds March is taking place under the motto “Mass demonstration for Gaza and Alawites in Syria” and is being promoted by Shiite Islamist circles. The Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin and the Frankfurt am Main branch of the German-Israeli Association are therefore calling on the authorities to take concrete steps:
- Consideration of a ban on the Al-Quds demonstration in Frankfurt on the basis of the Hessian Freedom of Assembly Act
- Strict conditions for demonstrations with anti-Israeli content, including video surveillance, restrictions on hate speech and protective measures for Jewish institutions
- Consistent prosecution of anti-Semitic hate speech and calls for violence (in all languages to be expected, i.e. especially German, Turkish, Farsi) in close cooperation with the public prosecutor's office
- Clear political positioning against anti-Semitic propaganda by the City of Frankfurt and the Hessian state government
Further information can be found in a joint policy paper, which can be read here.
