About 120 Left party members criticise Berlin antisemitism pact with SPD and Greens

The pact and its mechanism

On Thursday, 8 October, the Left, the Greens and the SPD presented an eight-point agreement on antisemitism that cleared the way for exploratory talks on a new Berlin state government. The text affirms Israel's right to exist, rejects "any form of antisemitism" and backs a two-state solution that would secure Israel and enable Palestinian self-determination, according to Handelsblatt. Violations of principles adopted by a party or faction can lead to consequences up to expulsion. Incidents are first reviewed by the parliamentary managing directors of the three factions, and at the request of one of them a panel of three experts from the "Berliner Stadtgemeinschaft" can assess the case. The affected faction then decides on final consequences in its own responsibility.

Criticism from within the Left

A statement opposing the pact has been signed by about 120 people, including several Bundestag members and newly elected members of the Berlin House of Representatives, with many more from other states. Spiegel Online reported that 17 Bundestag members supported the statement posted on Instagram. The signatories say the wording adopts narratives of a "media smear campaign" and fear the antisemitism terms are so broad they could be used against any criticism of Israel's occupation policy. They accuse the SPD and the Greens of bringing "discipline and division mechanisms" from outside into the Left party, and they call the Berlin negotiators giving in to that pressure a serious political mistake. Hannah Bruns of the Berlin state working group on Palestine solidarity called the agreement a single gesture of submission and told dpa:

Our party programme is not reflected in it.

Party leaders respond

Maximilian Schirmer, identified by Berliner Zeitung as the Left's Berlin state chairman, told dpa that the lively debate inside the party had been expected. Tagesspiegel instead names Kerstin Wolter as the Left state chair who presented the agreement on Thursday, alongside Werner Graf of the Greens and Steffen Krach of the SPD. Krach told Welt TV on Friday that the coalition would not come about if the Left leadership could not assert itself against antisemitic positions in its own ranks. He added:

The expectation is clearly directed at all three parties too, that if antisemitic incidents occur, clear consequences must be drawn, up to expulsion from the faction.

Krach said the matter was for the two Left state chairs to resolve, that his side would watch closely, and that he would accept no antisemitism in the Senate. He also said the new Left faction has 45 members, 37 of them new, and that the agreed rules apply to members of all three factions.

Ferat Koçak and the faction

Pellmann considers the debate over Ferat Koçak, the Left Bundestag member criticised for contacts to a Berlin clan milieu and to antisemitic actors, to be over. Koçak gave up his seat on the interior committee at the end of September and admitted his own misconduct, n-tv reported, but he kept his Bundestag mandate. Pellmann said the faction sees "no need for further consequences" and noted that Koçak had provided comprehensive transparency, including his chat histories. Koçak will continue as spokesman for anti-racism and anti-fascism and move to another committee yet to be decided. Krach had said earlier that he expected Koçak could not remain in the Bundestag faction.

Reactions beyond the party

Gideon Joffe, chairman of the Jewish Community of Berlin, said the decision meets with considerable mistrust within Berlin's Jewish community. Michael Müller, the SPD politician and former head of the Berlin government, called the agreement an absolute minimum as a basis for further talks. Bavarian premier Markus Söder told Bild that a left-led government in Berlin would be an absolute breach of a taboo and that it was shameful for the Berlin SPD and Greens to consider it. He said there can be no compromises on antisemitism and accused the potential partners of setting aside fundamental questions of internal security for party-political interests. The talks on a new Berlin government began on Thursday, and the Left's internal dispute over the pact continues.