At the end of August, the German Left Party (Die Linke) organized an election rally in the Neukölln district, one of its most prominent strongholds in the German capital, Berlin, in preparation for the state parliament elections that took place later on September 20.
The gathering carried the slogan “Angry at Capitalism!”, while the party was keen to attract a wider audience by inviting rapper Dahbflex to perform an artistic segment. However, the singer's anger was also directed at Israel, as he performed his song "Stop Genocide" during the event.
"Death to the Israeli army"
This means Israeli practices in the war, which many human rights organizations and a United Nations committee classify as genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The song contains a phrase that clearly glorifies violence: “Death to the IDF.” Members of the Left Party in Neukölln later justified their invitation to the controversial singer with his anti-war and anti-genocide stance. They said that this song, which contains calls for violence, was not included in the agreed upon program, and that this incident is currently being investigated internally.
Elif Eralp, the Left Party's main candidate for the Berlin elections, distanced herself from this anti-Semitic song. She said in an interview with DW: "I have always clearly criticized such incidents and also emphasized that this is unacceptable. I clearly stand with protecting Jewish life, just as I stand with protecting the lives of Palestinians and Muslims. I want to develop programs for all these groups as well."
Will Berlin soon be ruled by a left-wing mayor?
Elif Eralp will most likely get this opportunity when she becomes mayor of Berlin after her party won the Berlin elections and came in first place with 25.7 percent. This percentage is sufficient to form a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party (obtained 12.1 percent) and the Green Party (obtained 14.3 percent).
Berlin saw such an alliance, known as the “Red-Red-Green Coalition”, because of its party colours, between 2016 and 2023. A year after its formation, several representatives resigned from the Left Party in protest against what they saw as anti-Semitic trends within the party. The main reason for disagreements within the Left Party was the terrorist attack launched by the extremist Islamist movement Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023. Within the Left Party there is traditionally a strong pro-Palestinian current.
“We are wrestling with how to describe reality.”
Likewise, at the Federal Conference of the Left Party, which was held in June in Potsdam, there were controversial discussions about how the Left Party should officially classify the Gaza war. In the end, the majority supported describing the Israeli military operation as genocide. The leader of the Left Party, Ines Schwertner, justified this decision by saying: “We are struggling over how to describe reality, because the suffering of the Palestinians and the starvation of tens of thousands of them are not matters that we do not care about.”
On the other hand, Israel relies on its right to self-defense in the wake of the terrorist attacks that occurred on October 7, 2023, and refuses to accuse it of committing genocide. It says that the high number of casualties is a result of the war waged by Palestinian terrorist groups, and not the result of a desire to exterminate the Palestinians.
“We protect Jewish life – here and everywhere.”
“We protect Jewish life – here and everywhere,” Left Party leader Ines Schwertner emphasized at the party conference. At the same time, she condemned all forms of anti-Semitism, saying: “No parent should be afraid to send their child to a Jewish school. No one in this country should be afraid to visit a synagogue or wear a kippah in the street.”
Three months before the General Federal Congress of the Left Party, the party's branch in Lower Saxony sparked widespread controversy with a controversial resolution stating: "The Left Party of Lower Saxony rejects Zionism as it exists and exists today." In this position, the party's branch in this state opposed one of the many aspects of the Zionist movement, which arose in the late 19th century in response to anti-Semitism and the persecution of Jews. Its goal was to establish a state in which Jews could live in safety, and this was achieved in 1948.
“Antisemitism”: Even experts disagree on its definition
Where is the line between legitimate criticism of Israel's policy and anti-Semitism? This is a question often asked of Stefanie Schuler-Springorum, director of the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism at the Technische Universität Berlin and co-author of what is known as the Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism (JDA).
This declaration issued in 2021 is an alternative to the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) issued in 2016. With this statement, an international group of academics and experts responded to what, in their view, is a lack of clarity in the distinction between anti-Semitic rhetoric and legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism, as interpreted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Are some people deliberately moving into a gray area?
Historian Schuler-Springorum believes that the decision of the Left Party in Lower Saxony regarding Zionism is “ambiguous” and therefore problematic. She says that the wording of the title is an accusation that denies Israel's right to exist.
In this regard, I asked during an interview with DW: “Why is the term Zionism used when it comes to state policies?” Schuler-Springorum accused the Left Party in Lower Saxony of deliberately moving in a gray area.
Professor Schuler-Springorum clearly excluded the leadership of the Left Party at the federal level from her selections. The then leadership duo of Ines Schwertner and Jan van Aken clearly distanced themselves from the decision on Zionism in Lower Saxony, declaring: “There is no room for any compromises on proposals that call into question the established principles of our party.” “I find that to be a very trustworthy position,” Schuler-Springorum said.
The Commissioner for Combating Anti-Semitism resigns from the Left Party
In response to the decision of the party branch in Lower Saxony, Andreas Büttner, commissioner for the fight against anti-Semitism in the state of Brandenburg, resigned from the Left Party. He justified his resignation decision to DW by saying that anti-Zionism is essentially anti-Semitism because it questions Israel's right to exist.
And the issue of anti-Semitism did not play any role in the Berlin election campaign for a long time - until the appearance of rapper Dahbflix in Neukölln. For Stefan Evers, the leading candidate of the Christian Democrats, it is clear that: “Antisemitism has long ceased to be just an inadvertent slip of the tongue within the Berlin branch of the Left Party, but rather part of its political system.” Evers accuses his competitor, Elif Eralp, of covering this up.
The name of the Left Party last appeared in reports of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (domestic intelligence) in 2020. In these reports, only the presence of anti-capitalist currents, such as the Communist Platform, within the Left Party was focused on. But the issue of anti-Semitism was not mentioned within this context.
