Berlin. For weeks, the Left in Berlin has been criticized for failing to find a clear stance against anti-Semitism. The discussion about this has made the exploratory talks with the Greens and the SPD more difficult. Now there are new headlines and clear criticism from many quarters, just before the Left Party Congress, which is scheduled to decide on the start of coalition negotiations on Saturday.
According to a "Spiegel" report, the left-wing parliamentary group leader Elif Eralp, who wants to become Berlin's future governing mayor, sees the safety of her family at risk if she explicitly comments on a well-known Palestine activist. In the ranks of the potential alliance partner SPD, this is interpreted as blackmail and people warn against participating in a coalition led by the Left.
As “Spiegel” reports, Eralp’s fears emerge from internal comments on an interview the magazine conducted with her. The interview text was accidentally sent back to “Spiegel” by Eralp’s office along with the internal comments.
The left-wing politician explained to journalists that she did not want to comment specifically on the report. “What I can say very clearly is that as Governing Mayor I will ensure the safety of all Berliners.” She will take consistent action against violence and terror and will not allow herself to be intimidated.
Berlin's former SPD mayor Michael Müller, however, said on the television station Phoenix that if Eralp did not dare to clearly state in an interview what she wanted to take action against - "that would mean that the governing mayor is open to blackmail. You have to say that so clearly."
Former Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) told “Spiegel”: “I advise my party to refrain from this alliance in Berlin with the Left Party.” He would not blame a person seeking political office if they were afraid of personal risks. “But if I feel threatened, then it is impossible for me to hold such an office,” said the Bundestag member.
The domestic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Sebastian Fiedler, told “Focus” that the state of the left in Berlin was even worse than feared. “For any Social Democrat, further discussions about a coalition with this party are out of the question.”
The Greens in the Bundestag see the Berlin Left before a decision on its direction. “Will she continue to let those in her ranks who are close to criminal groups and accept the threats and intimidation of her own top candidate?” asked parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “Or will she manage to give a hard and clear answer?”
The chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, warned against a government coalition with the participation of the left in Berlin: “The Greens and the SPD have an obligation not to give this left government responsibility for Berlin or for the security of the Jewish community,” he told “Spiegel”. Recent revelations showed: “The left is unable to distance itself from terror sympathizers and anti-Semites.”
According to “Spiegel”, the magazine conducted an interview with Eralp on Monday. The next day, the written version of the interview was sent to Eralp's spokesman for authorization. A day later the interview was returned with comments and comments. The release of verbatim interviews is often part of journalistic practice in Germany.
In the conversation, Eralp's line on anti-Semitism in the ranks of the left was, according to the report, that she was not aware of the full extent of the problem. The “Spiegel” writes: “Of course, according to Eralp, she knew that many of her party friends, especially in the Neukölln district association, were very committed to the issue of Palestine - but she did not think that border crossings could also occur at individual events during the election campaign.”
According to its own information, the “Spiegel” asked: “By that you mean the terrorist sympathizer Ibrahim Ibrahim, who described the chief planner of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 as a “martyr hero” and was at the election party in Neukölln.” According to the report, Eralp answers: Yes. According to “Spiegel”, this question and its answer have been deleted from the authorized version.
In addition, according to the report, there are several internal comments from Eralp, including with reference to organized crime (OK): "The LKA said at the time that they recommend never naming specific names. Back then it was about OK. Now it's about people with contacts to Hamas. I can't put myself and my family in danger for SPIEGEL. What do we do now? Cancel the whole interview?", the magazine quotes from the comments. And: “Up until now, when they mentioned several incidents, including Ibrahin (incorrect spelling in the original quote), I generally condemned it, but now it is present individually.”
According to the democ association, which deals with anti-democratic movements, Ibrahim is an activist with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is classified as a terrorist organization in the EU and the USA. Ibrahim hit the headlines after the House of Representatives election because he attended a Left Party election party in Neukölln. Security circles see the appearance as an “absolute demonstration of power”.
The appearance fueled the debate about anti-Semitism on the left. Ibrahim commented on his role on Instagram on October 11th: "I firmly reject the accusation of supporting terrorism. I reject anti-Semitism, racism, religious discrimination and any form of ethnic exclusion," explained Ibrahim.
Not only is the question of security in Berlin gaining new momentum, the question of the political consequences of the debate is also arising: the Berlin CDU parliamentary group leader Stefan Evers wants to offer the Greens and the SPD exploratory talks about forming a government.
On the sidelines of the meeting of the House of Representatives, he referred to a conversation between the CDU and the two parties scheduled for November 3rd. “I will extend the invitation to explore there.” After the election on September 20th, in addition to a red-green-red alliance, black-green-red would also be mathematically possible. However, such a coalition would only have a very narrow majority.
According to a spokeswoman for the German Press Council, there have already been complaints following the “Spiegel” reporting. “For privacy reasons, we generally do not publicly disclose who has filed complaints,” she said. When asked, a spokeswoman for the Left Party in Berlin said that Eralp had not filed a complaint.
