Germany debates alleged antisemitism in the Left Party

Expressions of Jewish identity, such as wearing a kippah, have become more rare in Berlin due to antisemitic incidents (file photo from 2023)Image: Michele Tantussi/AFP/Getty ImagesAdvertisementThe socialist Left Party won the Berlin election on September 20. This means there's a good chance that the party's top candidate, Elif Eralp, could become Berlin's next mayor — making her the first member of the Left Party to hold that office.

Preliminary talks with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the environmentalist Green Party are scheduled to take place on October 1. If the talks are successful, it would represent a major step toward forming a coalition government.

Securing a clear commitment from the Left Party against antisemitism within its own ranks is seen as a prerequisite for successful cooperation. Yet doubts still persist about whether the party and its representatives can adequately protect Jewish life in the city.

During the election campaign, a performance at a Left Party event by the rapper Dahabflex made headlines and sparked outrage when he used slogans seen as antisemitic during his performance. And later, at an event held by the Left Party to celebrate its election victory, an appearance was made by Ibrahim Ibrahim — a supporter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is on the EU's list of terrorist organizations. The leaders of the Left Party have repeatedly distanced themselves from both incidents, both at the federal and state levels.

However, Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, thinks these statements are mere lip service. 

"In the fight against antisemitism, which is tolerated and allowed to run rampant within the party's ranks, the Left Party no longer has any credibility," reads a press statement released two days after the election. Schuster explicitly appealed to the SPD and the Greens not to form a coalition with the election winner.

High-ranking members of the federal government have also spoken out. Wolfram Weimer, government commissioner for culture and media who has no party affiliation, accused the Left Party of "openly flaunting antisemitism" and called into question the €2.9 billion ($3.3 billion) in funding for the capital's cultural sector for the coming decade — a deal that had already been agreed upon with the Berlin state government. Weimer claimed that many figures in the cultural sector are alarmed by the prospect of a government led by the Left Party.

Federal Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), also voiced concern. A video titled "Antisemitism and Expropriations Threaten the Economy" is available on her ministry's Instagram account, in reference also to the Left Party's plans to nationalize large private housing companies.

Reiche describes the Left as a party "that openly embraces antisemitism, that instills fear in the Jews of this city, that opposes Jewish life and that cheerfully welcomes organized crime at election parties."

The Left Party is now seeking an injunction to compel the Minister of Economic Affairs to delete the video.

"Reiche is using taxpayer money to spread propaganda against the Left Party on the Economy Ministry's official channel," said Left Party Federal Co-Chair Ines Schwerdtner.

In an open letter, a group of 150 prominent Jews from various social backgrounds has voiced support for the Left Party. Among those who signed it are the author Eva Menasse and the former director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, Susan Neiman. They advocate for a "social and safe city" and emphasize the importance of voting for different parties.

They explain their motivation as follows: "We are writing this letter because, over the past few weeks, we have heard the same claim time and again: that the Left is dangerous for Jews, and that a coalition involving the party poses a danger to our safety. We reject this claim not because we downplay concerns about our safety, but because we actually take them seriously."

Without naming the party directly, the signatories of the letter wrote that they believe that the greatest enemy of Jewish life is the Alternative for Germany (AfD): "At a time when an in-parts openly fascistic political party is marching towards power across Germany, it is an abdication of responsibility on the part of mainstream media and elements of our own community to continue to pretend that the Left presents the largest threat to Jewish safety."

In light of this, the letter states: "The constant accusations of antisemitism against the Left are not only cynical political weaponization, but they also conflate nearly any criticism of Israel with antisemitism."

The Left Party is the only party in the German parliament that opposes arms deliveries to Israel due to the military operation in the Gaza Strip following the terrorist attack by the radical Islamist group Hamas on October 7, 2023. Based on a resolution passed at its party convention, the Left Party classifies the ensuing war as a genocide.

Human rights organizations and a United Nations (UN) commission have also classified Israel's actions in Gaza against the Palestinian people as a genocide. The Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has invoked Israel's right to self-defense.

The intensifying debate over antisemitism within the Left Party is complicating the formation of a government in Berlin. At a party congress convened on short notice, Elif Eralp, the potential future mayor of Berlin, emphasized that her party has a duty to bring people together and build bridges.

"And in doing so," Eralp said, "it must be absolutely clear that there must never be any calls for violence, and that statements that frighten Jewish people must never be made from our platforms."

With these remarks, Eralp once again criticized the antisemitic rapper's performance during the Berlin election campaign. Jewish people must be able to feel safe in Berlin, said Eralp.

"I will strengthen Berlin's diverse Jewish community and combat antisemitism. And Palestinian and Muslim people must also feel seen and safe," Eralp said.

Outside the building where the special party convention was held, about 20 Jewish people expressed their solidarity with the party. A poster in Hebrew and German lay at their feet, reading, "Mazel Tov to the Left," congratulating the party on its September 20 election victory in Berlin.

One of the demonstrators was Scott Grabell, an artist originally from New York.

"Antisemitism is real — we know that," Grabell told DW. "But three years of genocide are also real, as are illegal occupation, forced destruction and displacement in the West Bank — that, too, is real."

Grabell emphasized that they were there to support the Left Party in its efforts to advance progressive policies. "We also want to show the diversity of Jewish life in German society. Everyone talks about the different sides — we are also part of Jewish life."

This article was originally written in German.