Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, is urging the Berlin local chapters of the SPD and the Greens to publicly rule out any potential coalition with Die Linke. In a letter addressed to the top candidates for the upcoming House of Representatives election-Steffen Krach and Werner Graf-which the “Tagesspiegel” reported on, Beck stated: “I call on you to definitively declare that you will not form a coalition with Die Linke Berlin.” Beck himself served as a member of the Bundestag for the Greens from 1994 to 2017.
Beck argues that Die Linke tolerates and encourages antisemitism within its ranks, specifically collecting votes based on antisemitic resentment during the election campaign. He pointed to incidents such as the appearance of rapper Dahabflex during the Neukölln campaign, whose chants included “Yalla Yalla Intifada” and “Death to the IDF” (Death to the Israeli Defense Forces). Furthermore, he noted that the Neukölln local chapter of Die Linke showed solidarity with these displays rather than distancing itself.
Concluding his argument, Beck asserted that if Jewish genocide is once again celebrated by supporters and members of a governing party in the German capital, “then we have truly learned nothing from our history.” While acknowledging that the Left’s top candidate, Elif Eralp, is personally above reproach and intends no harm, he countered that she fails to curb “antisemites, militants, and anti-Zionists affiliated with terrorism” within her own party.
He maintained that there must be a strong boundary established against antisemites from both the right and the left. In his letter, he stated, “I do not want to hear any preliminary or coalition conditions. Die Linke Berlin has identified itself as an antisemitism-open project. By staying silent, it has explained everything.” Beck stressed that the citizens of Berlin have a right to know what they are voting for before the election.
This letter is supported by Kerstin Müller, a former member of the Bundestag for the Greens and a former State Secretary in the Foreign Office. Speaking to the “Tagesspiegel”, Müller advised that the SPD and the Greens “must make it absolutely clear that they will not cooperate with a party that does not take a clear stance against antisemites and Israel hate.” She alleged that while the leadership of Die Linke distances itself, the party’s grassroots milieu is driven by antisemites seeking votes.
Given current election polling, the most realistic scenario suggests that the SPD and the Greens may have to decide after the election whether to form a partnership with the CDU or with the Linkspartei itself.
