Berlin, 13th May 2025 – In a press conference in Berlin, The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), in collaboration with Forensic Architecture and Forensis, launched its first publicly available groundbreaking database on anti-Palestinian repression in Germany, which will be followed by other countries across Europe. 

As European governments continue to provide moral, financial and military support to Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza, they have simultaneously ramped up efforts to repress solidarity and silence dissent within their countries. The database exposes these practices that silence and criminalise the Palestine Solidarity movement, and the various tools deployed in its pursuit. 

From censorship and surveillance; demonstration bans and arrests; disciplinary actions and workplace suspensions; financial repercussions and banking restrictions; repressive legislation like anti-BDS motions; harassment and intimidation, to threats to immigration status and citizenship – we have collected 766 incidents of anti-Palestinian repression in Germany alone, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The data has been visualised by our partner organisation Forensic Architecture and is accessible online. 

Key Findings 

• The three most dominant types of repression out of the 8 categories recorded are Censorship/disinformation/smearing, Arrests/law enforcement interventions and Legal/financial/professional repercussions with 175, 154 and 137 incidents respectively out of the total 766.  
• The main three actors responsible for repression are Police/Security personnel in 338 incidents, (member of) State Institution in 92 incidents, and Journalist/Media in 81 incidents.  
• The main targets of repression are Activist(s) or Activist group/organisation in 385 incidents, Student(s) or student society/group/organisation in 92 incidents, and Artist(s) or Cultural Groups in 83 incidents. 

Giovanni Fassina, Director of the ELSC comments: ”Widespread and extremely violent repression of Palestine solidarity has been enacted all over Europe for decades and is ever-growing as people call out complicity and demand an end to Israel’s genocidal violence. We are not talking about random or isolated cases. Our database clearly demonstrates: anti-Palestinian repression across Europe is systematic, institutional and undeniable.“ 

Layla Kattermann, Monitor Project Manager at the ELSC comments: “Anti-Palestinian repression in Europe means being deported, kicked out of schools, universities or workplaces, beaten by the police or criminalised in the courts for calling out complicity in genocide and settler colonialism. Those enabling Israel’s continuous genocidal onslaught on Gaza do not want to be exposed and disrupted and therefore resort to systematic repression and the criminalisation of dissent. Our data shows how state and non-state actors often align organically to perpetuate anti-Palestinian repression across all institutions and sectors of society: they are attacking people on the streets, in their homes and online to silence the Palestine solidarity movement.”    

The database reveals both: scope and patterns of anti-Palestinian repression, providing journalists, activists and researchers with open and free access to reliable, verifiable information and robust evidence. In archiving this data and making it publicly available, we are hoping to support prospective legal action, independent monitoring, reporting, and advocacy, as well as movement demands for accountability and justice.   

You can access our database through https://www.index-of-repression.org/ 
Please find attached the executive summary on the database. [Downlode PDF]
Watch the launch event livestream: [Link to livestream]
For press inquiries, please contact: karim@elsc.support 
For research inquiries, please reach out to: research@elsc.support 

This is an ongoing project. While we are launching our database with a focus on Germany, we know too well that repression here is not happening in a vacuum. The Germany dThe European Legal Support Center (ELSC), in collaboration with Forensic Architecture and Forensis, has launched a groundbreaking public database documenting 766 incidents of anti-Palestinian repression in Germany. The findings reveal a pattern of institutionalised censorship, criminalisation, and intimidation targeting activists, students, and cultural workers. This project marks the first in a series across Europe, providing open access to evidence supporting legal action, advocacy, and accountability.ataset will be followed by data collected in Britain, the Netherlands, and other countries across Europe.