Anti-Israel protests held worldwide on second anniversary of Hamas attack

Anti-Israel activists rallied worldwide on Tuesday, the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 rampage through southern Israel, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

Large rallies were held in Sydney, London, Paris, Geneva, Athens, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Tokyo, Jakarta and Stockholm, among other cities.

The protests reflect a shift in global sentiment, with sympathy that initially flowed to Israel after the October 7, 2023, attacks now increasingly directed toward Palestinians, leaving Israel more isolated on the world stage.

In Turkey, a protest was expected outside an energy company over its exports to Israel. In Sweden, demonstrators were expected to welcome back participants of the intercepted Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

In London, students from several universities were due to walk out of classes at 2:00 p.m. local time before marching through the center of the British capital.

Protesters outside King’s College London waved Palestinian flags and shouted, “Israel is a terrorist state.” They were expected to march to other universities.

Mark Etkind, a retiree in his early 60s from London, wore a sign around his neck saying he was the son of a Holocaust survivor and opposed what he called genocide in Gaza. He said a call by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for students not to protest was “outrageous.”

“I have always opposed genocide,” he told Reuters. “Of course, I support students here who are actively opposing genocide.”

Emily Schrader, a 34-year-old Israeli public diplomacy activist who was visiting London, called the anti-Israel demonstration on October 7 “utterly disgraceful.”

“I think that there are much better ways to support Palestinians than engaging in an activity like this that is so hurtful, so deeply offensive, and that emboldens radicalism and terrorism, whether on campus or on the ground in Israel,” she said.

Rallies or events including vigils were also planned in other UK cities, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield and Manchester, where two people were killed on Thursday when a terrorist attacked a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Organizers of pro-Palestinian protests say they are intended to spotlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and advocate for Palestinian rights. But politicians in several countries — particularly in Britain after the synagogue attack — said scheduling such protests on the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, could be seen as an endorsement of terrorism.

In the northern Italian city of Bologna, authorities banned demonstrations, citing the risk of unrest after days of protests and clashes with police across Italy. And in the Netherlands, pro-Palestinian activists splashed red paint on Amsterdam’s Royal Palace in protest against a decision by the city mayor to ban an anti-Israel rally while permitting a pro-Israel event.

Meanwhile, pro-Hamas graffiti appeared in at least two locations in Melbourne on the second anniversary of the Hamas attack.

A billboard in the suburb of Fitzroy was defaced with the text, “Glory to Hamas,” while in the neighborhood of Westgarth, a wall is defaced with the text, “Oct 7 do it again.”

Today, on the day that two of my family members were brutally murdered 2 years ago, I am appalled and shocked by the abhorrent pro-Hamas graffiti seen across Melbourne.

To celebrate Hamas is to celebrate rape, murder, and mutilation.

Urging them to “do it again” is to endorse… pic.twitter.com/6dZ4VsYY5X

— Amir Maimon (@MaimonAmir) October 7, 2025

Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan says it was “deeply wrong and offensive,” while Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls it “abhorrent,” the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles tells ABC radio that he has “no doubt” the incident will be looked into as a terror offense.

Also being held on Tuesday were vigils and some protests against antisemitism, which has spiked worldwide amid the Gaza war.

In Germany, mourners gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, placing stones and photos of victims in a solemn vigil echoing Jewish remembrance traditions, while events were held across Israel.

In one mile-long memorial at Columbia University — a focal point of the anti-Israel student movement in the US last year — pro-Israel nonprofits DiploAct and Let’s Do Something set up 1,200 seats with the images of the victims of the onslaught.

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