Anti-Semitism in the Left Party: Controversial collaboration in Leipzig

“Strengthening extra-parliamentary alliance work”. This was the motion that the Leipzig Left voted for at the city party conference on Sunday, as the radio station “mephisto 97.6” reported. But what sounds unspectacular makes some people doubt the party. With the application, the party also wants to work more closely with organizations that glorify terror, such as “Handala Leipzig”. The well-known left-wing politician Juliane Nagel told the taz: "We have certain principles: namely, to be democratic-socialist and not anti-Semitic. If we simply ignore that, then it is no longer my party."

What happened at the city party conference in Leipzig last Sunday is part of a long-running debate within the Left Party. Specifically, the question is how one wants to work with non-parliamentary organizations. The question has arisen particularly since the electoral success of the Left in the 2025 federal election and the wave of entry, particularly of younger people. The motion of the city party conference states: “Our role of extra-parliamentary alliance work to organize a countervailing power from below” can only work if the party is a reliable partner for the people.

In Leipzig, the party voted for the motion with a majority of 61 percent. The applicants also write there: "Banctions on cooperation are fundamentally a means of suppressing and dominating discourse. That is why we fundamentally reject bans on cooperation." In the justification they explicitly name the organization Handala. The approved motion says: The ban on cooperation with Handala Leipzig, which has now been declared unlawful, “is the harshest form of authoritarian and misguided alliance work.”

The application was preceded by an internal party dispute: The Saxon State Arbitration Commission 2025 had argued that cooperation with Handala was incompatible with the decisions of the Left. The arbitration commission is a kind of court for internal conflicts in the party. The state arbitration commission argued that Handala did not recognize Israel's right to exist and trivialized Hamas' crimes. This contradicts the decision of the left. The Saxon Left actually made the decision to exclude cooperation with organizations and people who represent “eliminatory anti-Semitism” or glorify the violent acts of October 7, 2023 or the criminal actions of Hamas.

However, in April the higher Federal Arbitration Commission decided that this was not enough. For an incompatibility decision to be made, Handala must be clearly named - this is not the case in the state association's current decision. Left-wing politician Juliane Nagel told the taz that she hopes that this will change. The resolution will be revisited and “hopefully clarified” at the Saxon state party conference in November. This means: Handala would then be explicitly named in the resolution.

The dispute between Nagel and Handala is not new. The Leipzig Left has been arguing about the Middle East conflict for years. In January, a demonstration took place against, among other things, Nagel's office and other facilities in the Connewitz district of Leipzig. Handala also joined the call. The organizers accused Nagel of being too supportive of Israel, and there were also attacks against Palestine activists and open racism in Connewitz. Even then, the demo divided the left in Leipzig.

The fact that there is already increased cooperation with parts of the party and Handala in other places can be seen this week in Berlin. There, Handala is calling for a nationwide “United for Palestine” demonstration on the occasion of the anniversary on October 7th. Also involved are organizations such as the party's internal state working group of the Left, the “LAG Palestine Solidarity”.

On Instagram, the alliance also expresses its solidarity “with all those affected by hate speech”. Including Hannah Bruns from the LAG “Palestine Solidarity”, who is currently being expelled from the party. The left-wing politician Ferat Koçak, who has been criticized for contacts with organized crime, is also pictured. When asked by taz, Koçak said he would not be at any demonstrations on Saturday. In addition to Koçak, the alliance also shows solidarity with the activist Ibrahim Ibrahim, who glorified terror against Israel in the past. Koçak posed with Ibrahim Ibrahim in a photo on election night. Afterwards, Koçak distanced himself, saying he didn't know who it was.

The fact that Ibrahim Ibrahim and Koçak are grabbed together on an Insta post by an internal party organization can be a disadvantage for the Left Berlin. After all, the Left is currently trying to form a government with the SPD and the Greens. The preliminary discussions between the three parties will also focus on how the Left deals with the issue of anti-Semitism within its own ranks. The Left Berlin left the taz's query unanswered by the time of going to press.