Students at the University of Hamburg staged a pro-Palestine protest on Monday, 2 November, blocking the entrances to the university’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences and calling for solidarity with Palestinians.
Whilst students displayed Palestinian flags and banners, played music and repeatedly chanted “Free Palestine”, riot police were called to arrive on campus, shortly after surrounding the demonstration with around 50 officers. Police subsequently arrested students as they moved to clear the protest.
The demonstrators said they were students at the university and were acting in solidarity with wider student and youth protest movements across Europe. Their demands also addressed the direction of public spending, arguing that money was being directed towards the arms industry rather than education.
The action comes amid renewed youth mobilisation in Germany, including demonstrations organised by the initiative “Gen Z regelt!” over issues such as conscription, education funding and the cost of living. The Hamburg university protest was not organised by the initiative, but students said they supported its wider calls for political change.
The demonstration is a reminder that Palestine solidarity remains part of student activism in Europe, with students continuing to organise on university campuses despite the prospect of police intervention and arrests.
