A higher regional court in Zweibrücken, southwestern Germany, has ruled that comparing the actions of the Israeli state with methods of Nazi rule is not automatically a criminal offence. Citing legal website Beck Online, Anadolu Agency reported that the court acquitted an Instagram user of all charges over several posts. The report was published on August 3, 2026.

The user had used Nazi swastikas and Nazi Party flags while making the comparisons. One story contained a table comparing Israel’s actions in the Middle East conflict with Nazi actions, above a split image showing the Israeli flag and a partially visible Nazi Party flag with a swastika. Another post depicted a wall with a swastika inside a Star of David, soldiers firing toward an enclosed area, and blood flowing beneath it.

The court said the offence of using symbols of unconstitutional organisations does not apply when such symbols are used to sharply criticise Israel’s conduct and the user clearly distances themselves from, or condemns, Nazi-era injustice. A lower court in Ludwigshafen had previously fined the woman 2,400 euros. The Zweibrücken court overturned that ruling on appeal and cautioned against interpreting the criminal offence too broadly in light of freedom of expression.