The left-wing Bundestag member Cansin Köktürk defended herself in the Bundestag against accusations of being anti-Semitic by shouting at CDU politician Jürgen Hardt: “You will hear from my lawyer!”
In a previous speech, Hardt had accused her of using her choice of words to run the business of radical extremists. In the Bundestag debate on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre on Wednesday, the CDU foreign policy expert particularly criticized Köktürk for describing Israel as a “genocidal apartheid state”. The left-wing politician spoke about the Middle East conflict, an extremely complicated conflict that has cost thousands of lives, in an “unusually flippant manner” for a member of the Bundestag, Hardt said, referring to a video uploaded by Köktürk.
She uses terms that are “not only anti-Srael, but also anti-Semitic.” For him, there was only one state that could be described as a genocidal apartheid state, “and that was the Third Reich”. Anyone who uses such a term to describe Israel would provide moral justification for those who called for the destruction of the Jewish state. Köktürk “does the business of radical extremists.” In doing so, it violates German interests and Germany's constitutional mandate to serve peace in the world.
Just a few days ago, Köktürk posted a video on Instagram in which she declared in English: "Fuck the genocidal apartheid state of Israel. Liberate the occupied territories of Palestine." She also wrote: "Fuck war criminals Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump. Fuck the mainstream media and anyone who disagrees with us!" Kökturk also announces: “It is ‘Free Palestine’ until our last breath or until Palestine is liberated, whichever happens first.”
“And I think they should be ashamed of it.”
In her response, Köktürk strongly contradicted Hardt in the Bundestag. It is her duty as a member of the Bundestag to “stand behind the constitution, international law and human rights”. He doesn't do that. The least she expects is “that we meet at the truth.” Hardt “doesn’t mention the Israeli government’s genocide against the Palestinians at all,” criticized the left-wing politician. “This is where the dialogue ends for me.”
At the same time, she rejected the accusation of anti-Semitism. She was particularly outraged that Hardt had equated her with the AfD. “I think that’s really, really bad,” she said. Hardt should be ashamed of that. Finally, she announced legal action: “You will hear from my lawyer.”
The video appeared only a short time after Köktürk had already made headlines in the Bundestag. After being heckled by “This is racist shit!” and “Now protect the fascists!” After receiving two citations and a fine of 2,000 euros, she accused Bundestag Vice President Andrea Lindholz (CSU) of promoting a “culture of debate with fascists”.
She then started a fundraising campaign in which she declared that she was resisting the “normalization of racist and misanthropic content from the AfD in the German parliament.” She will not allow herself to be intimidated or silenced by “capitalist threats of fines”. According to them, the money should go to the sea rescue organization Sea Watch.
The overall theme of the debate was the memory of the victims of Hamas terror. Hardt described October 7th as the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and recalled the around 1,200 dead and the hostages who were taken to Gaza. The criticism of Köktürk in the plenary session was not limited to the Union. AfD parliamentary group deputy Beatrix von Storch accused the left of relying on an “anti-Jewish wave” and mobilizing with Gaza protests. SPD politician Siemtje Möller, on the other hand, emphasized Germany's special responsibility towards Israel and promoted the two-state solution as the only path to lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.
