Online holocaust event on Zoom disrupted by anti-Semitic protesters in Germany

An online holocaust memorial event in Germany organized by the Israeli embassy was disrupted during Zoom video conferencing after a survivor began sharing his story.

Jeremy Issacharoff, Israel’s ambassador to Germany said: "During a Zoom meeting on the eve of holocaust memorial day by the embassy of Israel in Berlin that hosted survivor Zvi Herschel, anti-Israel activists disrupted his talk posting pictures of Hitler and shouting anti-semitic slogans. The event had to be suspended."

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"After a short break the event was reconvened without the activists and conducted in an appropriate and respectful way," Issacharoff said, adding,"to dishonour the memory of the holocaust and the dignity of the survivor is beyond shame and disgrace and shows the blatant antisemitic nature of the activists."

The Remembrance Day could not be held due to the coronavirus pandemic and rules restricting gatherings in Germany which has reported several thousand cases of COVID-19with over three thousand deaths.

The online event was held to sanctify the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany during Hitler's regime.

Herschel, a child survivor of the holocaustsaid the event had just started when it was "gatecrashed" by anonymous protesters.

They shouted "Palestine, Palestine" and showed "porno pictures, Hitler pictures, a Swastika... all sorts of things," Herschel told AFP

German foreign minister Heiko Maas said it was an "incredible lack of respect toward survivors and the memory of the deceased", adding, "it's an indescribable disgrace."

The identity of the anti-Semitic protesters could not be ascertained.