Antisemitism dispute complicates Berlin coalition talks

The Left Party’s victory in Berlin has created a possible path for Elif Eralp to become the city’s next mayor, but allegations of antisemitism within the party are complicating efforts to form a coalition government. Preliminary talks with the centre-left Social Democratic Party and the Greens are scheduled for October 1. A clear commitment from the Left Party to oppose antisemitism is regarded as a condition for successful cooperation, although doubts remain over whether the party can adequately protect Jewish life in the capital.

The controversy intensified during the election campaign after rapper Dahabflex performed at a Left Party event using slogans that were widely regarded as antisemitic. At a later celebration of the party’s election victory, Ibrahim Ibrahim, a supporter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also appeared. The PFLP is listed by the European Union as a terrorist organisation.

Left Party leaders at federal and state level have distanced themselves from both incidents. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said those statements had amounted to “mere lip service”. He urged the SPD and Greens not to form a coalition with the election winner, arguing that antisemitism was tolerated within the party.

Government figures have also criticised the Left. Culture and media commissioner Wolfram Weimer questioned a planned €2.9 billion funding agreement for Berlin’s cultural sector, while Economy Minister Katherina Reiche described the party as hostile to Jewish life in a video published by her ministry. The Left is seeking an injunction to have the video removed, calling it taxpayer-funded propaganda.

An open letter signed by 150 prominent Jews, including Eva Menasse and Susan Neiman, rejected the claim that the Left represented the greatest danger to Jewish safety. The signatories identified the AfD as the greater threat and argued that criticism of Israel was too readily conflated with antisemitism. At a party congress, Eralp said the Left had a duty to build bridges and that calls for violence or statements frightening Jewish people must never come from its platforms.