The mayor of Berlin, Germany, gave a no-nonsense answer when asked why his office had Israeli flags flying in front of it.

The questioner claimed Israel was perpetrating a “genocide,” asking Mayor Kai Wegner, “The genocide taking place in Palestine does affect us, even if geopolitics is now perhaps more important than the office of a small mayor, I say. Nevertheless, we cannot duck away from a genocide. But why, why, for example, are there Israeli flags hanging in front of our Berlin town halls?”

Wegner decried those who have called Israel’s actions “genocide,” firing back, “So it’s not happening. Period. And I won’t allow it, either.”

Wegner implicitly referred to the effort by Germans to atone for the terrible crimes of the Nazis against the Jews in World War II, saying, “This is a massive, one-sided propaganda campaign by certain circles, where I simply say, I thought we were further along. I thought we had moved on and learned other lessons from our history, too. So apparently, some people haven’t yet. And I can tell them that the Israeli flag will hang outside my red town hall until we know the fate of the hostages, who are being held in the most cruel, atrocious conditions, in agonizing suffering in the tunnels of Hamas terrorists. As long as there is still hope that one of these hostages will be returned to their families, the Israeli flag will hang in front of the ruling mayor’s official residence.”

Seit fast einem Jahr hängt die israelische Flagge vor dem Roten Rathaus. Es gibt Menschen, die dieses Symbol der Solidarität ablehnen. Einige von ihnen waren bei „Kai Wegner vor Ort“. Der Reg. Bürgermeister @kaiwegner hat klar gemacht, welche Haltung er bei diesem Thema hat. pic.twitter.com/UZFgzz5vYZ

— Senatskanzlei Berlin (@RegBerlin) September 20, 2024

In February, Wegner stated on X, “Berlin has a clear stance when it comes to freedom. Berlin stands firmly on Israel’s side. There is no doubt about that. Full responsibility for the deep suffering in Israel and the Gaza Strip lies with Hamas.”

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Berlin hat eine klare Haltung, wenn es um Freiheit geht. Berlin steht fest auf der Seite Israels. Darüber gibt es keinen Zweifel. Die volle Verantwortung für das tiefe Leid in Israel und dem Gazastreifen liegt bei der Hamas.

— Kai Wegner (@kaiwegner) February 25, 2024

In May, Wegner defended police who had removed pro-Hamas demonstrators from buildings at Humboldt University. He accused the demonstrators of supporting Hamas; Germany, as well as the United States, considers Hamas a terrorist organization. “I will not let this pass, we do not tolerate anti-Semitism, hatred and agitation at our universities,” Wegner declared. “Jewish students must be able to study at universities without fear. … I attach great importance to academic freedom and freedom of opinion, but anti-Semitic crimes are not an opinion.”