A group of Jewish students non-violently occupied a building at the Technical University in Berlin in a protest against antisemitism on Monday, and remained in situ on Thursday.
The group - Occupation Against Antisemitism - took over a plenary session of the General Students' Committee (AStA) on Monday as a protest, partly against the continuous pro-Palestine occupations of buildings, but also the hostile stance the students' council has taken towards Jewish and Israeli students.
The new AStA representatives were elected on October 28, 2025. Occupation Against Antisemitism said some of the new elects are "members of antisemitic, authoritarian groups that glorify Hamas, justify October 7, and were responsible for violent actions on campus." The group added that the atmosphere was "anti-democratic" and that during one council meeting, "the mocking of antisemitism-critical perspectives at the student parliament meeting was justified, and the Jewish students present were repeatedly denied their perspective on antisemitism, to the point that several of them left the meeting early."
'There was no real interest in taking the perspectives and concerns raised seriously'
Occupation Against Antisemitism said in a statement that on Monday evening, two representatives of AStA came to the occupied hall to request a meeting and claimed to be seeking cooperation. However, during the subsequent discussion, "it became clear that there was no real interest in taking the perspectives and concerns raised seriously or in reflecting on their own behavior. We ended the conversation when one of the representatives denied that the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 was antisemitic, declared the term “terror” itself to be racist, and consistently refused to refer to the attack as a terrorist act."
Occupation Against Antisemitism describes itself as antifascist and anti-Hamas. It is formed of "left-wing Jewish and non-Jewish students" who will not tolerate hostility towards Jewish and Israeli students at TU Berlin. On its Instagram, it posted pictures of banners reading "we fight antisemitism, AStA does not" and "no peace with antisemites inside." It also posted pictures of merchandise, flyers, and booklets, and even invited people to a party in December named "Party without antisemitism."
The group reported at least three attempts to take down their banners or vandalise their signs. On Wednesday, two men came with a ladder and tore down a banner which said "a star of David instead of a Hamas triangle." When confronted, the men said they tore it down because "many people have been murdered in the name of the Star of David."
The group is demanding no more antisemitic events on campus, no support for antisemitic groups by the ASta, and "educational events" on all forms of antisemitism.
It was reported that police were called to disband the occupation, but this was confirmed to be false, and the police stated that they were called to investigate property damage to the posters.
AStA released a statement dismissing all accusations of antisemitism. It said it "clearly and unequivocally rejects all forms of anti-Muslim racism, anti-Palestinian racism and antisemitism."
It added that it is "alarming that the necessary protection of Jewish students from antisemitism is increasingly being used as a pretext to attack democratic structures and to delegitimize emancipatory politics," noting that it "firmly rejects the blanket suspicion directed at students in solidarity with Palestine."
"Criticism of the Israeli government’s policies, solidarity with the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and a clear stance against the genocide in Gaza are not antisemitic and must not be defamed as such."