Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities.
Berlin, Germany – It's a gray, drizzly morning on Sonnenallee, commonly known as Berlin's “Arab Street.”
Massive protests have erupted here in the German capital's Neukölln district since late last year, followed by an alleged police crackdown that pro-Palestinian demonstrators described as shocking and violent. ing.
Local residents Francesca Leone, 31, and Leah*, 27, have joined thousands of others across Germany who have been regularly traveling since October 7, when the latest escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began. Appealing to Germany for Palestinian rights. Reconsider your unflinching support for Israel.
Leah, who arrived in Germany in 2015 seeking refuge from Syria, said she had recently been arrested at a demonstration. She asked Al Jazeera to withhold her real name because of her concerns that her employer would take action against her.
There were also attacks on the homes of pro-Palestinian supporters, she said.
“[Neukoelln] “For me, it's always been a political space and a place where a lot of people with very unstable immigration status can live,” she said.
“It was shocking to witness such a level of police violence. Authorities say this is the area where news of families being killed in Gaza is coming and where they want to express their grief and anger. I didn't take that into consideration.”
She claimed there was a high degree of racial profiling during her arrest at the protests and said recent tensions had changed her “perception as a refugee.”
“Germany was one of the few countries that welcomed us as we fled conflict zones, but now it terrorizes and criminalizes me and many others,” she said. said.
Leone and Leah first met at a protest and quickly became close.
Leone, a German-born Palestinian, said the war had affected her life in unexpected ways.
“My personal life has completely changed,” she said. “I was patient at first, waiting for my friendships and wider circle of people to show support. But then it became clear that their solidarity had limits.”
She said the support of some left-wing Germans was conditional.
“[They were] He told me he wouldn't go to a demonstration unless conditions were met, such as not walking next to people chanting “From the River to the Sea” or wearing a keffiyeh. Even though they knew I was Palestinian and that my family had fled there, it wasn't enough for me to say I supported Palestine. So we had to say goodbye to a lot of people. ”
Berlin police denied racial profiling of protesters and said officers were trained to use a “dialogue-based approach”.
A spokesperson told Al Jazeera that 112 pro-Palestinian events were held in the state of Berlin between October 7 and March 5.
Germany's central criminal investigation agency, the Federal Police, said that as of March 11, 1,349 “measures restricting freedoms” had been carried out across the country in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It has not been made clear whether these measures are pro-Palestinian or pro-Palestinian. events in Israel.
Restrictions on freedom are short-term measures, such as temporarily detaining protesters for questioning before being released.
Germany, home to Europe's largest Palestinian diaspora with a reported 30,000 people, has become one of Israel's strongest allies in recent months.
Talking to people in the Arab-German community along Sonneallee, there is a thick atmosphere of fear in the air. Requests for interviews are often declined.
A young man working at a store decorated with Palestinian flags and keffiyehs told Al Jazeera that his manager told him not to give media interviews because German authorities might be monitoring the store. Ta.
Such a clear show of support for Palestine means authorities may suspect links to Hamas, which Germany, along with the US, UK and European Union, lists as a terrorist organization. Then he said:
Israel has said it wants to crush Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, after it carried out an attack in southern Israel on October 7 that left at least 1,139 people dead. Since then, Israeli operations in Gaza have killed more than 30,000 people, most of them women and children.
While many countries have warned Israel to slow down its attacks due to the high cost of civilian casualties, Germany stands firmly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Rashid* is an Egyptian who has lived in Berlin for over 10 years and works in a restaurant near Sonnenallee.
He said it's difficult to go to work these days.
“The scene was terrible, with the police arresting and attacking people. I was very scared that the police would also stop me and charge me with links to Hamas,” he told Al Jazeera. Told.
He appreciates South Africa's efforts against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but has little expectation that the case will have an impact.
“I was surprised to see new players coming in against South Africa, but I understand it because South Africans went through the same thing with apartheid,” he said. “But Israel has always ignored international law, so I don't think it will change anything.
“In Germany there is a belief that anything that threatens the existence of Israel must be fought, and this is why Germany distances itself from the Palestinian experience.”
Since early October, German authorities have faced a backlash amid mounting accusations that they are trying to silence pro-Palestinian protesters, including those who simply post support for Gaza in social media messages.
In the arts, anti-discrimination provisions required applicants to Berlin's Kultur Fund to adhere to the official definition of anti-Semitism. But the clause was removed in January after critics argued it could limit legitimate criticism of Israel and 6,000 cultural figures signed an open letter in opposition.
Meanwhile, Oyun, a prominent cultural center in Neukölln, lost state funding after hosting an event aimed at raising awareness about the plight of Palestinians.
Neukölln's people of Middle Eastern descent say they are preparing for a long road ahead.
“This doesn't end just because the genocide ends. It's also a fight to protect our rights as refugees and immigrants in a country with a rich history of fascism,” Lee said. . “This is a big, long process, and we need to provide community and space for ourselves, grieve, and empower ourselves to confront this very intense violence and racism. .”
“Things may have calmed down on the streets, but when I talk to people, I still see fear in their eyes,” Rashid said. “People on the street don't say much, but you can tell what's going on in their heads. It's time for people from different backgrounds to come together and unite with the Palestinian people.”