Third Anniversary of October 7: Berlin Commemorates Hamas Victims

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Three years after the Hamas massacre, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, and Bundestag President Julia Klöckner jointly commemorated the victims in Berlin. At a memorial ceremony marking the third anniversary of October 7, 2023, they called for a determined fight against Jew-hatred, according to a Zeit report. Joining them on stage: Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor.

The memorial ceremony stands in a line with the annual events marking the anniversary of the attack, in which Hamas and other groups attacked Israeli border communities and took hostages on October 7, 2023. In Israel, nationwide ceremonies have since commemorated the approximately 1,200 killed and the abducted, whose fate continues to shape politics in Jerusalem, Washington, and Brussels to this day.

Israeli Ambassador Prosor used the Berlin memorial ceremony for a pointed demand. He called for an "offensive against antisemitism" — a word repeatedly heard in Berlin since the protests following the attack, and one the federal government has responded to with the antisemitism strategy amended in the summer of 2025. The top politicians of the black-red coalition deliberately positioned themselves alongside the Israeli representation with their participation.

What the warning concretely means

The fight against antisemitism has been a top priority in Germany since 2023. Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt announced stricter requirements for foreign financial flows into antisemitic structures in early 2025; Bundestag President Klöckner advocates for a consistent culture of remembrance in parliament. Chancellor Merz regularly uses memorial events like this one to underscore the Federal Republic's line toward the Israeli side — also against the backdrop of ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Context: Annual rhythm of commemoration

The memorial ceremony fits into a rhythm that includes Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), the commemoration of the victims of the 1972 attacks, and the growing place that October 7 is taking in Germany's calendar of remembrance. For you, this means: anyone who wants to know how the federal government weights its relationship with Israel will find the clearest statements in the speeches at such events — often clearer than in press conferences.