France and Germany have moved to ban pro-Palestine demonstrations in their countries following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel which killed 1,400 Israelis. Israel has responded with relentless airstrikes which killed nearly 4,000 Gazans so far. What’s behind the protest ban?

Is free speech a casualty of the current Middle East conflict? Supporters of Palestine say they struggle to be heard, especially in places like France and Germany, where protests in support of Palestinians have been banned since the start of the conflict on Oct. 7. Meanwhile, pro-Israel protests have not been prohibited in these countries. 

The governments said the ban is to stop anti-Semitism and public disorder. But supporters of Palestinians say they fear expressing their support and risking arrest, losing their jobs, or impacting their immigration status.

Despite the bans, supporters of Palestine in both Germany and France continued to take to the streets to voice their support. However, most of these protests were broken up by police teargas and water cannon.

Since Oct. 12, France has issued nearly 752 fines over the defiance of the banned protests and nearly 43 people were detained so far.

In Germany, nearly 190 people have been arrested at demonstrations. Permission to protest was refused to several groups, including one called “Jewish Berliners Against Middle Eastern Violence”. 

Human rights groups acknowledged the need to protect Jewish communities but have expressed concern over the repression of legitimate protests.

Hungary and Austria have also joined in efforts to block pro-Palestine protests since the start of the conflict. 

Freedom of speech in the United States

Scattered pro-Palestinian protests took place in various U.S. cities since Oct. 7 over what demonstrators see as President Biden’s acquiescence to Israel’s crackdown on the Gaza Strip. While pro-Palestine demonstrations are legal in the U.S., more than 300 people were arrested on Oct. 18 for illegally protesting in a congressional office building calling for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. The protesters included individuals from Jewish advocacy groups who chanted “let Gaza live” and “not in my name”.

Middle East conflict roils U.S. college campuses

College officials in the U.S. are facing pressure to preserve open debate and free speech while being supportive enough towards students hurting on both sides of the conflict. As officials increasingly choose positions of neutrality, Jewish students are demanding strong condemnations after the Oct. 7 attacks. Pro-Palestinian students on the other hand are demanding recognition of decades of suffering by Palestinians in Gaza.

A backlash to the reaction of these colleges has been coming from major donors. Many chose to pull funding from several schools over the schools’ response to the attack on Oct. 7. Some of the most notable donors are former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and China Jon Huntsman who has decided to cease donations to the University of Pennsylvania and former Victoria’s Secret CEO and billionaire Les Wexner who has pulled funding from Harvard.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.