Overview
- The Higher Administrative Court in Münster ruled in an emergency case that Düsseldorf police could not impose a blanket ban on questioning Israel’s right to exist.
- The decision partly overturned a lower court order after the organizer of a 22 November rally with about 50 registered participants challenged police conditions.
- Judges said criticism of Israel’s founding and calls for peaceful change fall under free expression and do not, by themselves, constitute a crime.
- The slogan “There is only one state – Palestine 48” may not be prohibited, whereas the ban on chanting “Yalla, yalla, Intifada” is likely lawful in the current conflict context.
- Whether “From the river to the sea” is a Hamas identifier was not conclusively resolved, but authorities may enforce a ban immediately, and the OVG decision is final.