The Berlin Left faces accusations of anti-Semitism. About 20 activists demonstrated in front of the party conference. Federal chair Ines Schwerdtner spoke about the conscience of the comrades. Lawyer Elif Eralp was selected as the top candidate in the House of Representatives election.
The Berlin Left faced accusations of anti-Semitism. Federal Chair Ines Schwerdtner is now calling on her colleagues in Berlin to defend Jewish lives as well as the struggle of the Palestinian people. “The repression of the solidarity movement with Palestine must end,” Schwerdtner said at the party’s state conference in Lichtenberg. “Jewish life in this city must be safe again. Our humanism cannot be separated.”
For the left, “Palestinian self-determination can only go hand in hand with Jewish self-determination in Israel and Palestine and vice versa,” he added. This line is clear and has been decided by a broad majority at the federal party conference. “I want this passion for Berlin and all regional associations,” said Schwerdtner.
The Berlin Left is divided on the Gaza conflict and the boycott movement against Israel. Schwerdtner said the determining factor in the success of the DPR elections in September 2026 will be whether the party campaigns as one unit. The CDU will attack leftist groups in the next few months because it is afraid of leftist groups.
The group demonstrated against anti-Semitism in front of the Left Party conference
The “Group Against Anti-Semitism Berlin” had previously demonstrated in front of the Berlin Left party conference venue. “If you want to be taken seriously as a democratic party, you must also take a clear stance against anti-Semitism and against party members who act anti-Semitically,” said the group’s spokesman, Janosch Tillmann. About 20 participants objected to two controversial motions tabled before the party conference.
An application asks for a position on the question of whether the Left should support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaign. In the second application, the war in the Gaza Strip should be described as genocide. With such proposals, the Left Party “does not contribute to making Jewish life in Berlin and Germany safer again,” Tillmann explained. The group unfurled a banner with a quote from the former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Paul Spiegel: “The murderers hide behind calls for peace.”
After last year’s party conference, several Berlin MPs such as Klaus Lederer and Elke Breitenbach resigned from the party due to their lack of stance on anti-Semitism. At the party conference in Lichtenberg, the Berlin Left wants to name Elif Eralp as the top candidate for next year’s House of Representatives elections.
The Berlin Left chose deputy leader Eralp as the main candidate for the House of Representatives elections
At the state party conference, 44-year-old lawyer Elif Eralp was also named the top candidate in the election. According to the wishes of the Left, he should be Mayor next year.
Schwerdtner referred to the election victory won by left-wing Democrat Zohran Mamdani in New York and said: “This is the time of the red metropolis.”
epd/dpa/ceb/saha
