The climber, identified by the group as Aaron, remained at the top of the mast for around an hour before making his own way down. Police and firefighters subsequently removed the Palestinian flag.
All three men were arrested, and police are investigating suspected offences including defaming the state and its symbols, criminal damage, trespassing and breaching regulations governing public demonstrations.
The stunt also damaged the flagpole's tensioning mechanism, preventing officials from restoring the German flag.
A Palestinian flag flies above the Reichstag in Berlin on November 8, 2026 (Instagram/PeacefullyAgainstGenocide)[Missing Credit]
In a statement, the group said: “Today we raised the Palestinian flag in front of the German Bundestag. Governments worldwide do not act in the name of the people when they remain silent about, condone, or support the genocide in Palestine.”
Aaron also addressed the group's supporters, saying: “Governments around the world do not act on behalf of the people if they remain silent, condone, or support the genocide in Palestine.
“No matter where in the world, when a genocide is committed, it affects all of us. We must not steal ourselves from the responsibility of stopping crimes against humanity.”
The timing of the demonstration attracted particular attention because it took place on November 8, the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-instigated pogrom against German and Austrian Jews on November 9 and 10, 1938.
During the violence, whose German name translates to the “night of broken glass,” synagogues were set ablaze, Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked, and thousands of Jewish people were attacked.
More than 1,400 synagogues were destroyed or damaged, while approximately 26,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
The pogrom marked a major escalation in the Nazi persecution of Jews, preceding their systematic murder during the Holocaust.
Peacefully Against Genocide has repeatedly invoked the phrase “Never Again” in its campaigning, using it to draw comparisons between Israel's military campaign in Gaza and the Holocaust.
In November 2025, members of the group used a cherry picker to reach the roof of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, where they displayed a banner reading “Never again genocide – Freedom for Palestine”.
Bundestag president Julia Klöckner demanded stronger security around the parliament, declaring: “Our German Bundestag needs more protection!”
She said she would not accept “that something like this is even possible at the German Bundestag”, adding that measures must be taken to ensure that the parliament “does not degenerate into a backdrop for activism of any kind”.
Berlin's mayor, Kai Wegner, also condemned the demonstration, describing it as “unacceptable”, particularly given its timing.
“Whoever tears down black, red and gold in front of the Reichstag and hoists a Palestinian flag is showing contempt for our democracy,” he said.
The police have promised to review security arrangements. Spokesman Martin Halweg said: “We are naturally taking this incident as an opportunity to adapt our protective measures for the external security of the German Bundestag accordingly.”
The incident came as Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the Jewish community at Munich's Ohel Jakob Synagogue, which was itself celebrating its 20th year in operation, to mark the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
The chancellor described the need for armed police and bulletproof glass at Jewish schools and synagogues as a “horrifying sight”, warning that antisemitism was now widespread throughout German society.
“Antisemitism is once again omnipresent,” he said.
“We see and hear it on our streets, in our towns and cities, in the towns and cities of our European neighbours and around the world, in parliaments, in clubs and in schools.
“And that is why this is now the moment of truth for the ‘Never again’ that we utter so often.”
Merz pledged that his government would do everything possible to protect Jewish life in Germany and internationally. “We stand unwaveringly at Israel's side,” he said.
He described Israel's existence as part of Germany's “historical responsibility”, adding that the country must remain a place where Jews can find refuge from persecution.
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria and a survivor of Kristallnacht, spoke about the continuing insecurity experienced by Jews.
“We wait, we hope for the day when one can be Jewish in complete normality,” she said. “When we can live here in our homeland without insecurity.”
Knobloch said that since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023, Jewish people in Germany had once again faced hostility, from both the far-right and what she described as a “morally misguided Left”.
According to Germany's Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism, 8,725 antisemitic incidents were recorded in 2025, more than three times the number reported in 2022, averaging approximately 24 incidents a day.
