Commemoration of October 7th: A partly disturbing debate

Less than two minutes after the debate about the protection of Jewish life began in the Bundestag, some members of parliament are already dealing with their political opponents again. The CDU politician Jürgen Hardt is just appealing that Jews in Germany should never be afraid again, then he turns to the leftist Cansin Köktürk.

They use terms that are anti-Semitic. He is referring to a video that Köktürk posted on Instagram over the weekend. There she walks through Bochum, in the background a voice says, among other things: “Fuck the genocidal apartheid state of Israel.” According to Hardt, Köktürk is doing the business of radical extremists. After the speech, Köktürk can respond to the allegations: She stands behind the constitution, human rights and international law. In addition, she is not an anti-Semite. Finally, she announces: “You will hear from my lawyer.”

The actual topic of the debate is: “Three years after the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel – resolutely combat anti-Semitism, protect Jewish life in Germany.” However, hardly any of the speakers mentioned concrete measures for protection.

Three years ago, on October 7, 2023, the Islamist Hamas and its allies murdered over 1,200 people in Israel. More than 5,000 people were injured and around 250 were taken hostage. This terrorist attack was the largest massacre of Jews since the Shoah. Since then, anti-Semitism has increased significantly in Germany. In 2025, the police recorded around 6,500 anti-Semitic crimes. That is almost twice as many as in 2022. Even before October 7th, Jewish schools, kindergartens and synagogues received special protection.

The AfD politician Beatrix von Storch uses the debate as an opportunity to announce that the hotbed of German anti-Semitism can be found in the left-wing universities - which she wants to "drain". Union MPs appeal to the SPD and the Greens not to enter into a coalition with the Left, as this is anti-Semitic. The parties are currently in preliminary exploratory talks in Berlin. In the last few weeks there has been repeated criticism of parts of the left. This week, members of the Left, together with Hamas-affiliated groups, are calling for demonstrations.

If you look at the numbers, most anti-Semitic crimes are not on the left: in 2025, according to the Interior Ministry, almost half were politically motivated on the right. 35 percent fall under “foreign ideology” and almost ten percent under “religious ideology”. Only two percent were politically motivated to the left. A different picture also emerges when it comes to party supporters: a study by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation from 2023 shows that anti-Semitic attitudes are more widespread among AfD voters than among others. The voters of the Union and SPD are roughly in line with the population average. Green and Left voters were the least likely to agree with anti-Semitic statements.

Only later speeches manage to actually address the suffering of Jews since October 7th. The Left leader Ines Schwerdtner says she feels for the mothers who are afraid for their children in schools. The SPD MP Siemtje Möller also differentiates herself from the previous speakers and speaks sensitively about the fate of the people in Israel on October 7th - it becomes quieter in the room. At the same time, the SPD and the Left are talking about the ruins in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli military offensive after October 7th killed at least 70,000 people, including 20,000 children.

In her speech, Green Party member Agnieszka Brugger addressed the other factions: The debate was in parts more than disturbing and inappropriate: “Today, the focus should be on commemorating the victims.” However, the SPD, the Greens and the Left do not mention any concrete measures to protect Jewish life.