Anti-Israel left-wing activists seem determined to sabotage a series of weekly lectures on Zionism being given at the old municipal hall in Hamburg.
But the sponsor, the German-Israel Friendship Association, is equally determined that no one interfere with the series, which runs through this month.
The group has not hesitated to call on the authorities. When an estimated 50 demonstrators, carrying banners equating Zionism with racism, attempted to enter the hall Wednesday evening, they were effectively blocked by police and state security personnel, many of them in plain clothes.
It was the second time in a week that anti-Zionist radicals tried to disrupt the lectures.
The first attempt was led by two reporters from the Berlin-based daily Taz, a newspaper close to the pacifist-environmentalist Green Party.
On that occasion, the demonstrators penetrated the hall and proceeded to heckle the speakers and wave provocative banners. They departed after the lecture sponsors allowed them to deliver a five-minute statement.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
