Eralp shows Dobrindt: Overdue red card

T he left must draw a red line against anti-Semitism, that is clear. But she must also defend herself against all those who exploit the accusation of anti-Semitism for their own purposes in order to create sentiment against her. It wasn't just conservative media that opened a veritable barrage of fire against the left after their brilliant election victory in Berlin. Left-wing politicians also have to defend themselves against accusations of anti-Semitism on public talk shows.

At Maybritt Illner, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt misunderstood his tone when he defamed Elif Eralp, the leading candidate of the Berlin Left, as an “anti-Semite”. Eralp has now filed a criminal complaint against Dobrindt for slander and insult. This is an overdue red card that makes it clear that the CSU politician has crossed a line. Not everyone has the time and resources to legally defend themselves against unjustified accusations of anti-Semitism like Eralp did: That makes her case exemplary.

The Left is the only party in the Bundestag to criticize Germany's support for Israel's war crimes in Gaza and elsewhere. This criticism is sometimes interpreted as anti-Semitism. A lot of voters in Berlin saw through this and gave the left their vote despite these accusations - or precisely because of their clear stance on the Middle East conflict.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

The accusation of anti-Semitism weighs heavily in a country that bears responsibility for the genocide of over six million Jews. But the accusation is greatly invalidated by its inflationary abuse in the political battle of opinions. That is fatal.

It's clear why conservative politicians and the media are so keen to accuse the left of anti-Semitism across the board: by claiming that the left is basically no better than the AfD - and perhaps even worse - they have an argument to build a firewall against right-wing extremists. It's not just the left that shouldn't let them get away with this.