Two married couples stand up for Israel on the sidelines of the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Siegen on Sunday evening. The police classify the chance encounter as an “unauthorised assembly” – and initiate an investigation.
Two married couples who had never met before, but who both felt very close to the people of Israel, happened to encounter each other on the sidelines of this demonstration. They were introduced to each other by a mutual acquaintance.
For violating the Assembly Act. How did this happen? “My wife Dawn and I just wanted to watch the demonstration and hear what was being said,” says Jürgen Kleinloh from Kreuztal. The two have made many interpersonal contacts with people in Israel and have been concerned about their well-being since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.
The Christians have organised tours to Bethlehem and Jerusalem for many years. For many years, they have also volunteered in Israel and received tourist groups in Bethlehem, at the Garden Tomb of Jesus . At Scheinerplatz, they discovered two people holding signs in the dark: “Hamas = murderer”, they read.
They were Mirjam and Jens Kemper, who were in Tel Aviv with their children on that terrible 7th of October and who managed to leave the country, which was quickly in war mode, on their own initiative . “We didn’t know each other, but I recognised them because I had seen their photo in the Siegen newspaper. In the report about their adventurous escape,” says Jürgen Kleinloh.
They struck up a conversation and an acquaintance spontaneously joined them. “The police cordoned us and other spectators off from the demonstration right at the beginning,” the 82-year-old from Kreuztal continues. “We even had pleasant conversations with them. Towards the end of the demonstration, a police officer asked whether we belonged together and told us that we were an unannounced assembly. Because there were more than two of us.”
Then a surprising question was asked, which initially left people speechless, but whose spontaneous answer was to have consequences: “When asked who was in charge of the meeting, my wife said ‘I am’ without realising the consequences,” reports Jens Kemper. And has to smile.
He also confirms that the meeting was absolutely coincidental. The lawyer admits: “Because my wife and I clearly spoke out against Hamas terror with our signs, the police probably thought that the meeting had been planned for a long time.” But it wasn’t.
Charges were therefore brought against Mirjam Kemper, the alleged “assembly leader”. Niklas Zankowski, press spokesman for the Siegen-Wittgenstein district police authority, announced that the police headquarters in Hagen will now take over the investigation into this case. On Sunday, the police recorded a total of three reports of administrative offences and two criminal charges. The image and video recordings made by the police evidence recovery team will now be analysed afterwards and checked for criminal relevance.