Reason to organize the antifascist meeting in Novi Sad was the open call from Goran Davidovic who was sentenced earlier to one-year imprisonment for inciting racial, religious and national hatred during the intrusion to the panel discussion at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, for organization of a neonazi meeting on Sunday, October 7th 2007, near Jasa Tomic monument located downtown Novi Sad. That particular date is also the SS troup leader and Gestapo Chief Heinrich Himmler's birthday. Jasa Tomic monument was built in November 2007 by the radical party government in Novi Sad. Jasa Tomic was, among other, a great propagator of antisemitic ideas, famous for killing his political opponent Misa Dimitrijevic. Arrival of neonazis from abroad was also announced and later on proved true. After boisterous public reaction, this meeting was banned by the police. During the period that followed afterwards, idea that such meetings should not have been banned began to appear in public by arguing that it was contrary to the “rules of democracy”, as well as to the freedom of expression. Perhaps some of the supporters of those ideas, not too loudly though, claim that the genocide in Srebrenica was also a matter of freedom of expression.
Because of all these occurrences, NGOs from Novi Sad have launched the initiative to organize a large antifascist meeting on the same day, October 7th 2007. Following NGOs took part in this initiative: Center for Regionalism, Independent Journalists Association in Vojvodina, Helsinki Board for Human Rights, together with other organizations. Political parties were invited to join the initiative. League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina, G17 plus and Liberal Democratic Party have answered the call. Purpose of this meeting was to build the antifascist block in Serbia, as broadly as possible, open for other parties as well. Mayor of Novi Sad, Ms Maja Gojkovic was also publicly invited to join the protest, but she did not come.
There were around five thousand citizens carrying flags of Vojvodina, Serbia, European Union, together with banners of antifascist, alter-globalist and anarchist groups. About fifty meters away from the corner of Zmaj Jovina and Dunavska streets where antifascists had their meeting, thirty members of the clero-fascist organization “Obraz” carried their symbols and shouted: “Serbia to Serbs!”, “Ratko Mladic!”. They stood outside Saborna church, where they went for a quick prayer beforehand. When Ana Frenkel, president of the Jewish municipality in Novi Sad, addressed the antifascist crowd, they reacted especially boisterously. Police cordon was deployed between them and citizens to prevent the collision. On and off, citizens approached the cordon to observe the neonazis and returned to hear the speeches of, among other, Aleksandar Popov from the Center for Regionalism, Pavel Domonji, Head of the Novi Sad Office of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Marija Perkovic from “Women in black” and Ranko Koncar, professor of history at the University of Novi Sad.
Around five o'clock in the afternoon, neonazi activists started to march down Dunavska street towards Beogradski kej street, while citizens walked by Jasa Tomic monument where banned neonazi meeting was supposed to take place, in order to make a short symbolic stop for a few minutes. According to the organizers' plan, protesters' final destination was the memorial site built for the victims of the nazi massacre during the WWII Novi Sad raid, where they went to pay homage to all victims of nazism and fascism. However, this peaceful protest walk was disrupted firstly by shouts “Serbia to Serbs! and “Vojvodina-Serbia!” coming from a restaurant located within the premises of the Serbian Army Club. Citizens have soon recognized activists of the “National front” behind the fence of this army property, about fifty of them, lead by Goran Davidovic.  Neonazis  ran up to the fence, some of them climbed the fence and threw insults at citizens with the Nazi-style salute, while other started throwing stones. Whole place was swarmed by cameras and journalists and the police cordon was pushing away citizens who were showered by stones and who started throwing back stones and plastic bottles. The impression was that the police was protecting neonazis instead of citizens, until a detachment of the Serbian Gendarmerie entered the garden of the Serbian Army Club and started making arrests of National Front activists, which was followed by citizens' cheers.
Fifty eight persons were arrested, among which eleven were citizens of Slovakia carrying fascist propaganda materials, whose residence visas were canceled, i. e. who were banned from Serbia. Among detainees, there were two members of the Serbian Army who were later on handed over to the Military Court. Forty five persons were brought before Misdemeanor Court on account of disturbance of public peace and quiet. Goran Davidovic was among them. According to the police announcement, several citizens were injured during the disturbances, but after checkup at the Clinical Center Novi Sad they were all sent home, except one that was kept in order to receive treatment. One of the speakers at the antifascist meeting - Mr. Pavel Domonji, Head of the Novi Sad Office of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, was one of the injured as well. Activists of the “National Front” were brought before the Misdemeanor Court. Three of them were sentenced to 10 to 25 days of imprisonment, while fourteen were acquitted. The rest remained subject to regular proceedings.
However, neonazis were not able to stop the protest march which ended at the memorial site on the Danube river bank. Organizers have criticized police heavily for not being able to protect the citizens, in spite of their legal obligations and their promises. “Neonazis have showered the citizens with stones, while the police protected neonazis instead of citizens, in spite of their duty to protect those who gathered together to hold a peaceful, civil and legally announced meeting.”
Organizers also suspect that this was not merely an accident or a result of police carelessness, but rather a consequence of someone's interest in causing conflict between neonazis and peaceful citizens antifascists, in order to label both sides equally as “extremists”.