Pro and anti-Israel Protests Draw Hundreds in Berlin for Quds Day

Hundreds of people, including prominent German politicians and members of the Jewish community, are protesting against a larger, anti-Israel rally in Berlin.

Police in the German capital of Berlin kept the competing protests on Saturday apart.

The annual al-Quds - Arabic for Jerusalem - march against Israel drew more than 1,000 participants, with some chanting "Palestine will be reborn!" or "Free Gaza!" Others waved Iranian flags.

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The German news agency dpa reported that the government's anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, the Israeli ambassador in Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff; and Berlin's top security official, Andreas Geisel, attended the pro-Israel rally.

Klein recently made headlines for saying he could no longer recommend German Jews wear skullcaps in public out of fear for their safety, following an uptick in anti-Semitic crimes in the country.

The comment was rebuked by Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, who called it "a surrender to anti-Semitism," adding that "the responsibility for the peace, safety and freedom of the Jewish population of Germany is on the shoulders of the government and law enforcement agencies of Germany."

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Several days later, Klein called upon non-Jewish Germans to wear kippas in public in a show of solidarity with local Jews, as well as encouraging them to attend pro-Israel events on al-Quds day.

Geisel urged the German government to consider banning the political wing of the militant group Hezbollah.

Some at the counter-protest waved Israeli flags and banners with slogans such as "It's time to turn Hamas into hummus."