The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which collects intelligence on extremist groups and reports to the German Interior Ministry, has denounced the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as "hostile to the constitution".
Berlin's BDS chapter was listed for the first time as a "proven extremist endeavour hostile to the constitution," the office said as it announced its annual report on threats to the free democratic basic order and the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The conclusion was delivered after gathering intelligence on "the anti-constitutional ideology of the BDS campaign, which denies Israel's right to exist, as well as its central role within Berlin's anti-Israel scene," the office said.
The report noted that "supporters of BDS in Berlin justified and/or glorified the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023," in which approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered.
The worst single-day massacre against Jews since the Holocaust "was welcomed in official statements as a 'liberation struggle against settler colonialism' or as a breakout from the 'open-air prison' of Gaza," it said.
In addition, "signs with stereotypical antisemitic imagery were repeatedly displayed" at BDS protests, according to the report.
While the core group of BDS Berlin consists of some 30 activists, there is significant overlap in its wider ranks with Islamist extremist and terror groups, the report alleged.
"Islamist attacks in Germany underscore the persistently high threat level posed by this spectrum. Within the Islamist scene, propaganda spread via social networks serves as a key driver of radicalisation, increasingly targeting young people and even children," the office added.
Germany became the first European country to officially declare the BDS movement as antisemitic in 2019.
The non-binding motion, which was passed by the Bundestag in May that year, said that the campaign, which seeks to inflict economic damage on Israel, was "reminiscent of the most terrible chapter in German history" and triggered memories of the Nazi slogan "Don't buy from Jews".
