Josef Schuster, the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, expressed skepticism regarding the proposed ban on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Speaking to the news portal T-Online, he argued that banning the AfD would not remove its voter base, which would simply find another outlet. Schuster emphasized that a ban alone would not resolve the nation’s fundamental issues. Despite his skepticism about a ban, the highest representative of the Jewish community urged a more decisive course of action against the party, which contains strongly right-wing elements in parts. He stressed that all options available to combat the AfD must be thoroughly examined.
Schuster also addressed the growing problem of antisemitism in Germany. He criticized the prevalence of antisemitism in major cities and urban areas, noting that this form of prejudice is increasingly spread by the political left. He observed that this left-wing antisemitism overlaps with antisemitism from the far-right and certain Islamist circles, creating what he described as an “unholy alliance” that utilizes antisemitism as a unifying ideology.
The physician and member of the German Ethics Council also weighed in on the ongoing debate in the Bundestag concerning the transplant law. The parliament is currently discussing the potential introduction of an opt-out system for organ donation, which would designate every adult as a donor unless they explicitly state their opposition. Schuster disagrees with such a regulation. According to Jewish understanding, post-mortem organ retrieval requires the conscious consent of the donor. He believes an opt-out system cannot guarantee this, as it risks overriding an individual’s true beliefs if they failed to voice their preferences during their lifetime. Therefore, Schuster supports the current opt-in system, which mandates that only those who have explicitly consented through an organ donation ID or an online registry become donors. He also noted that a deceased person’s relatives can grant permission for an organ retrieval.
