Left Party leader Pantisano: "Of course we also have antisemitism in the Left"

Luigi Pantisano, co-leader of Germany's Left Party, has acknowledged antisemitism within his party. "Of course we also have antisemitism in the Left," he said in Deutschlandfunk radio's "Interview of the Week." "But it exists in every other party too." The Left has a clear position, he said: "We are against all antisemitism." He rejected blanket condemnations of the party. The Left supports Israel's right to exist and sees it as its task "always to stand up for Jewish life and to protect it," he said. According to Tagesspiegel, Pantisano also said the party statutes must be applied "if necessary."

At the same time, he defended criticism of the Israeli government, which he described as far-right. The Left accuses the German government of supplying weapons for genocide in the Gaza Strip; Israel rejects the genocide allegation. Such criticism is not antisemitism, Pantisano said. Asked about Berlin Left lawmaker Vanessa Emde's statement that states have no right to exist, only people do, he said this was correct under international law: "That's why the statement is not wrong in itself." He added: "The question is what is politically intended behind it."

The background is the formation of a government in Berlin. The Left became the strongest party in the September 20 state election with 25.7 percent, and the outgoing CDU-SPD coalition lost its majority. The Left, the SPD and the Greens are exploring a red-green-red coalition, and the handling of antisemitism is one of the points of contention. The conservatives are sharply attacking the planned alliance: CSU leader Markus Söder called the Left an "evil, radical Left" at the CSU party congress on Friday, Tagesspiegel reported.