The Left Party wins the Berlin elections and faces accusations of anti-Semitism

The Left Party won the elections for the German capital Berlin, which took place on September 20. By obtaining about 26 percent of the votes, the Left Party clearly outperformed the Christian Democratic Party, which received slightly less than 19 percent. This increases the chances of the Left Party's main candidate, Elif Eralb, taking over as mayor of Berlin - an unprecedented achievement for her party.

Election campaign with an anti-Semitic rapper

On Thursday (October 1), preliminary talks took place between the Left Party and the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party in order to overcome the biggest potential obstacle to forming a government coalition: a clear acknowledgment by the Left Party of its opposition to and condemnation of anti-Semitism. This is because there are doubts about the credibility of the Left Party and its representatives in protecting Jewish life in Germany.

During the Left Party's election campaign, the appearance of an anti-Semitic rapper made headlines and sparked widespread outrage. After winning the elections, he held an election party attended by a clan leader who had been involved in several serious criminal offences. The leaders of the Left Party denied their relationship with this person, whether at the federal or state levels.

Central Council of Jews in Germany: “The Left Party is not trustworthy”

For his part, Joseph Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, believes that the Left Party’s reactions are just empty talk. He said in a press statement published two days after the elections: “The Left Party no longer has credibility in combating Jew hatred and anti-Semitism, which it tolerates within its ranks and allows to spread freely.” Schuster also explicitly appealed to the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party not to enter into a coalition with the Left Party that won the elections.

High-ranking officials in the federal government also spoke about this. Independent Secretary of State for Culture and Media Wolfram Weimar has accused the Left Party of "displaying anti-Semitism in public", and funding for Berlin's cultural sector, recently agreed with the state government and amounting to €2.9 billion for the next decade, has been put into question and possibly reviewed. Weimar claimed that many cultural workers were concerned about the possibility of forming a government led by the Left Party.

“Antisemitism and confiscations threaten the economy.”

The German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Katrina Reiche, from the Christian Democratic Party, launched another attack on the Left Party because of its planning to expropriate the properties of major private housing companies. Her ministry posted a video clip on its Instagram account entitled “Antisemitism and confiscations threaten the economy.” Reiche describes the Left Party as a party that "openly lives out anti-Semitism, which intimidates the Jews in this city, fights Jewish life, and welcomes organized crime at its election parties."

For its part, the Left Party now wants to file a lawsuit to force the Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy to delete the video clip. The head of the party at the federal level, Ines Schwertner, criticized the actions of the minister from the Christian Democratic Party, saying: “Minister Katrina Reiche spreads propaganda against the Left Party with taxpayers’ money on the official channel of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.”

150 Jews and men defend the Left Party

In an open letter, 150 Jews from different social backgrounds expressed their support for the Left Party. Among the signatories of this letter are the writer Eva Menasse, as well as the former director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, the philosopher Susanne Neyman. The signatories of the letter called for a "social and safe city" and stressed cross-party voting.

They explained their motivations as follows: “We are writing this letter because in recent weeks we have repeatedly heard the same claim: that the Left Party poses a danger to the Jews, and that entering into a coalition with it would endanger the security of our societies. We refuse to portray the situation in this way, not because we belittle the concerns, but because we take them more seriously than superficial warnings.”

Warnings partly from the far-right Alternative Party

The signatories of the letter believe that the greatest enemy of Jewish life in Germany is the Alternative for Germany party, without naming it by its name. “At a time when a party that partly reveals its fascism is marching toward power throughout Germany, the mainstream media and (important) sectors of our Jewish community are shirking their responsibility when they continue to pretend as if the Left Party poses the greatest threat to Jewish security,” they wrote.

The Alternative for Germany party, which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as an extreme right-wing party in some of its wings, also managed to double its results in the parliamentary elections for the states of Saxony-Anhalt, the state of Berlin, and the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD only needs a few seats to achieve an absolute majority; However, its main candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, with the support of Sarah Wagenknecht's coalition, may become the first German state prime minister from the AfD.

"Opportunistic political exploitation"

Against this background, the open letter stated: “Continuing to accuse the Left Party in particular of anti-Semitism is not merely opportunistic political exploitation, but rather equates almost any criticism of Israeli policies with anti-Semitism.”

The Left Party is the only party represented in the German Parliament (Bundestag) and rejects Germany's export of weapons to Israel due to the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip after the terrorist attack launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The Left Party - based on a resolution issued by its General Conference - describes the results of the war that began after that as genocide.

Elif Eralp seeks to build bridges of dialogue and communication

Human rights organizations and a United Nations committee also classify Israel's actions as genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. While the Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu relies on its right to self-defense.

The intense debate about anti-Semitism in the Left Party complicates the formation of a government in the Berlin state. At a hastily held special party conference, potential candidate for mayor of Berlin, Elif Eralb, stressed that her party’s mission is to bring people together and build bridges of dialogue and communication: “It must therefore be absolutely clear that incitement to violence is never permissible, and statements that incite fear of Jews should never come out of our platforms.”

“I will support diverse Jewish life in Berlin”

At the same conference, Eralb again criticized the appearance of the anti-Semitic rapper during the election campaign in Berlin. The politician of Turkish origin explained that Jews should feel safe in Berlin. “I will support diverse Jewish life in Berlin and combat anti-Semitism,” Eralp said. “And Palestinians and Muslims should also feel valued and safe.”

In front of the building in which the special party conference of the Left Party was held, about twenty Jews and men expressed their solidarity with the Left Party. They displayed in front of them on the ground a banner that read, in a mixture of Hebrew and German, “Mazel Tov for the Left Party.” These words can be translated as congratulations to the party on its victory in the elections that took place in Berlin on September 20.

“We are also part of Jewish life.”

Within this context, New York-based artist Scott Grabill told DW: "Antisemitism is real, and we know it. But three years of genocide is also real. And the illegal occupation, forced destruction and displacement in the West Bank - all of this is real. This is why we cannot take complaints of anti-Semitism seriously, while Israel is committing genocide."

Scott Grabill emphasized that they stand here to support the Left Party in achieving progressive policies. He added: "We also want to highlight the diversity of Jewish identity in German society. Everyone talks about different aspects - and we are also part of Jewish life."

Prepared by: Raed Al-Bash