‘’We find it unbearable that it is possible to call for the destruction of the largest Jewish community in the world in the middle of Berlin: Israel. We demonstrate solidarity with Israel and protest against any form of anti-Semitic and Islamist propaganda in Berlin,’’ said Michael Spaney, who has called for a counter-demonstration together with several other organisations.

BERLIN—Germany’s anti-Semitism Commissioner Felix Klein has called on Germans to don the kippa in a bid to show solidarity with Jews ahead of an anti-Israel protest in Berlin on Saturday.

“I call on all citizens of Berlin and across Germany to wear the yarmulke next Saturday if there are new, intolerable attacks targeting Israel and Jews on the occasion of Al-Quds Day in Berlin,” Klein said. He also called on people to take part in pro-Israel rallies on the day instead.

Klein made headlines last week when he warned Jews not to wear the yarmulke in public, citing safety concerns. The Central Council of Jews, the representative body of Jews in Germany, has warned about wearing the yarmulke in public amid a rise in the number of anti-Jewish attacks in Germany.

A spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’ said it was the state’s responsibility to provide security for Jews. “The state must see to it that the free exercise of religion is possible for all… and that anyone can go anywhere in our country in full security wearing a kippa,” Steffen Seibert told a press conference.

Al-Quds Day is an annual march held at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 in support of Palestinians and against Israel. Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, meaning holy.

In previous years, the event has attracted a range of anti-Israel demonstrators including supporters of terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as neo-Nazis and supporters of conspiracy theories. Demonstrators call to conquer “al Quds” and destroy the Jewish state.

According to Michael Spaney, Executive Director of the Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin, ‘’there are anti-Semites from various spectrums, including supporters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Center Hamburg, officials of the “Islamic Community of the Shiite Communities of Germany” (IGS) and Palestinian terrorist organizations.’’

‘’We find it unbearable that it is possible to call for the destruction of the largest Jewish community in the world in the middle of Berlin: Israel. We demonstrate solidarity with Israel and protest against any form of anti-Semitic and Islamist propaganda in Berlin,’’ added Spaney, who has called for a counter-demonstration together with several other organisations.

‘’Under the pretext of defending the rights of Palestinians, a radical understanding of Islam and homophobia is propagated, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are spread, and aggressive hostility towards the West is demonstrated,’’ he said, urging Germany ‘’to  follow the example of the Netherlands and Great Britain and ban the entire Hezbollah group.’

Germany and the EU merely outlawed Hezbollah’s so-called ‘’military wing’’ in 2013. In addition to the Netherlands and the UK, the US, Canada, Arab League and Israel classify all of Hezbollah as a terrorist entity.

Josef Schuster, the president of the Council of Jews in Germany, has criticized the Berlin authorities for allowing the annual al-Quds Day rally to take place.