Party conference of the Berlin Left: Elif Eralp is combative

afp/dpa | After the Spiegel report about her fear of Hamas sympathizers, top Berlin left-wing politician Elif Eralp made a “promise of protection” for the people of Berlin. “I want to make a policy for all people, because everyone deserves a good life in security and dignity,” said Eralp on Saturday at a Left state party conference in Berlin. This is intended to decide on the coalition negotiations between the Left and the Greens and the SPD.

In her speech, which was often interrupted by applause, Eralp reacted combatively to doubts about her ability to govern. “I won’t give up.” The attacks on her and the Berlin Left had “lost all measure,” criticized Eralp, who was intended by the Left as the new Governing Mayor of Berlin.

After a report by Der Spiegel, according to which Eralp and her husband are afraid of sympathizers of the terrorist organization Hamas from the Berlin Left, doubts were raised about Eralp's ability to govern. The Berlin CDU, for example, called her compromised for the office of mayor.

Eralp said that after the Spiegel report, some would now claim that she could not protect Berlin as mayor. The opposite is the case. “It is precisely because I know and understand various concerns that I will do this.” She will not allow herself to be intimidated and will “naturally” stand up against any form of misanthropy, glorification of violence or anti-Semitism.

Eralp led the Left to victory in the House of Representatives election on September 20th. She appealed to her party to now stand together in solidarity. “These will not be the last attacks.” The excessive criticism of the left is due to the fact that it wants to put people at the center of Berlin politics and not profit. “We will not allow ourselves to be defeated,” said Eralp. “The people in our city elected us for change and we will implement it together.”

Eralp particularly emphasized that the socialization of housing groups was decided in the exploratory discussions. This is historic. This is also why the success of the planned red-green-red coalition is important.

The Left will be the last party in the possible three-party alliance to decide on coalition negotiations; the Greens and the SPD have already agreed. If the Left also agrees, coalition negotiations will begin next week. Eralp was confident that the Left Party Congress would also clearly agree - although there are a large number of applications for the exploratory paper.

The Berlin Left Party state chairwoman Kerstin Wolter has rejected allegations of anti-Semitism and excessive criticism of Israel against her party. "Because we on the left condemn the genocide in Gaza, we are accused of being anti-Semitic. But standing up against crimes under international law is not a crime," she said at a state party conference in Berlin-Lichtenberg. “It would be a crime not to.” However, German history should not be forgotten. “For a left in Berlin, this means that we have a special responsibility for protecting Jewish life,” said Wolter. “We are the left in the city where the Shoah was planned and from which it was carried out.”

Israel's right to exist derives from this horror, because Israel is a safe space for Jews. “There is no contradiction in standing up for this right to exist and at the same time fighting for the Palestinians’ right to their own state,” said Wolter. Anyone who legitimizes violence and terror against civilians as a “free rider in the Palestine solidarity movement” should be excluded from the movement for peace and equal rights. “Where this does not happen on our part, we will work through mistakes, because our commitment is based on human rights and international law, and anyone who tramples on this right has no place in a peace movement.”

Despite the debate about Berlin's left-wing top candidate Elif Eralp's fear of Hamas sympathizers, the federal chairmen of their party, Ines Schwerdtner and Luigi Pantisano, have promised a left-wing government policy in the capital. "Berlin voted left. Berlin gets left. Together we will make Berlin affordable," they explained to the editorial network Germany (RND) with a view to the state party conference of the Berlin Left on Saturday.

The party leaders stood behind Eralp and reiterated their goal of a coalition with the Greens and SPD. “Since it became clear that the Left can win in Berlin and is serious about socialization, there has been a mood against Elif Eralp and the Left,” explained Schwerdtner and Pantisano. "Of course you worry about the safety of your own family. That's now being exploited for a headline." They added: "We will not be intimidated. Not by headlines and not by real estate companies."

Top Berlin left-wing politician Elif Eralp will receive police protection on Saturday at her party's party conference. Corresponding media reports were confirmed to the German Press Agency from security circles. Accordingly, Eralp is said to have asked the Berlin police to check her security status. It was said that the check revealed a concrete threat situation due to the current constellation.

On the one hand, the background is that social media channels are calling for a rally in front of the conference venue - against “voter betrayal” and for “consistent Palestine solidarity and socialization”. In connection with a report by Spiegel, which caused a stir on Thursday, the authorities see reason to protect Eralp. According to the report, the left-wing politician sees the safety of her family at risk if she explicitly comments on a well-known Palestine activist and terrorist sympathizer - with whom left-wing members had contact. According to Der Spiegel, Eralp's fears emerge from internal comments on an interview the magazine conducted with her. The interview text was accidentally sent back to Spiegel by Eralp's office along with internal comments.

According to information from Spiegel, which was confirmed by the dpa, the Berlin State Criminal Police Office (LKA) has so far had no evidence of a specific threat to the politician. That's why the LKA didn't give her a corresponding warning, as security circles also said. As with the other top candidates in the election for the Berlin House of Representatives, there were security discussions. Standardized and general advice on risk minimization was given, as is usual with top politicians, it was said. The well-known Palestine activist Ibrahim Ibrahim was therefore not a topic in the conversation. Only two members of the Senate receive general personal protection in Berlin: Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) and Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD).