Thousands of people gathered in Frankfurt over the weekend to protest anti-Semitism and demonstrate in favor of Israel, the Kurds and the Yazidi, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported Tuesday.

The demonstration is to be followed up “on September 14 by a national rally in Berlin coordinated by the Central Council of Jews in Germany.”

Participants included Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, Central Council President Dieter Graumann, and Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her support for the event in a letter. A spokeswoman for the Friendship Germany-Israel group, Natasha Langmann, called on participants to join “together with Kurds and Yazidis against Hamas and IS,” referring to the religious minority that is one of the groups under siege by the radical Islamist group in Iraq.

According to the JTA, the demonstration was notable for the Kurdish and Israeli flags that were on display.

Last month, several demonstrations in the United States and Israel featured joint pro-Israel and pro-Kurdish messages.

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