Globally, Pro-Palestinian supporters have been using the symbol in graffiti and at anti-Israel protests, with some examples showing the triangles above a Jewish Star of David symbol. Berlin's state senate stated that the icon "represents an immediate threat to Jews and to people committed to the freedom and security of Israel and should be banned at protests and in the context of the Middle East conflict," according to The Telegraph. The motion to ban the symbols passed on Sunday.
In Berlin specifically, the red triangle has been used to "target pro-Israel academics and politicians, including Kai Wegner, the Berlin mayor who ordered the eviction of pro-Palestine protesters from the city’s Free University by police," the outlet states. "Kai will pay" was seen graffitied under a red triangle on the wall of a university.
The Telegraph reports that Berlin has the largest Palestinian population in Europe, which does not gel well with the fact that Germany's government strongly supports Israel in the present day. Israel’s security has been described as part of Germany’s reason of state.
The motion passed with a vote in the senate, garnering the most support from its right-wing parties. Those who opposed it argued that the blanket ban of symbols could be unconstitutional. The state parliament said it would help to have the law passed federally in Germany.
The origins of the inverted red triangle come from the Nazis who used them in concentration camps as a symbol for communists, however Palestinian terrorist groups have now been using it in propaganda materials such as placing the red triangle above Israeli tanks in images and videos.
