Left Party faces antisemitism scrutiny ahead of Berlin coalition talks

Election victory and coalition preparations

The Left Party won the Berlin state election on 20 September 2026, positioning lead candidate Elif Eralp to potentially become the first member of the party to serve as governing mayor. Preliminary exploratory talks between the Left Party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and the Green Party are scheduled to begin on 1 October 2026. Both potential coalition partners have identified a clear commitment against antisemitism within the Left Party as a prerequisite for entering government together. The Left Party secured the largest share of votes across Berlin and won individual districts, including Neukölln.

Campaign controversies and council warnings

Public debate centered on incidents during and following the campaign. Rapper Dahabflex used slogans viewed as antisemitic during a Left Party event, while Ibrahim Ibrahim, a supporter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), attended the party's post-election celebration. Party leaders at both state and federal levels distanced themselves from both appearances. Two days after the vote, Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, rejected those statements as insufficient and called on the SPD and Greens to refuse a governing coalition with the election winner.

In the fight against antisemitism, which is tolerated and allowed to run rampant within the party's ranks, the Left Party no longer has any credibility.

Wolfram Weimer, the federal government commissioner for culture and media, accused the Left Party of openly flaunting antisemitism and questioned 2.9 billion euros in previously agreed cultural funding for Berlin over the coming decade.

Neukölln scrutiny and community reactions

Criticism has also focused on the party's local branch in Neukölln, where co-caucus leader Ahmed Abed was nominated for district mayor in mid-January 2026 after serving in the district assembly since 2016. In October 2025, Abed called Tzvika Brot, the visiting mayor of Neukölln's Israeli partner city Bat Yam, a perpetrator of genocide during a town hall event. The Jewish association Hillel announced that it is reviewing whether its traditional Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony in Neukölln can take place this year, taking local conditions into account.

Antisemitism confronts us across all of Germany. Sweeping attributions to individual districts or population groups do not do justice to local diversity.

Spokesperson Dan Rattan rejected reports that Hillel had canceled the ceremony because of the election outcome, stating that Jewish life belongs to Neukölln and the entire capital.

Party defense and political pushback

Former party co-chair Jan van Aken rejected the allegations during an ARD broadcast, stating that top candidate Elif Eralp has prepared concrete proposals to protect Jewish life in Berlin. Van Aken stated that individuals holding antisemitic positions represent a minority with no influence on party decisions or the prospective government, adding that his goal is for those individuals to leave the party.

We are all completely clear: antisemitism will not be tolerated in this party.

Van Aken argued that the criticism was politically driven by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), property lobbyists, and wealthy interests seeking to block the Left Party from power. Green Party leader Felix Banaszak criticized shifted standards in the debate, while a group of Berlin Jewish residents issued an open letter stating that critics were instrumentalizing antisemitism. The Berlin Left Party has also initiated legal action against politicians who accused the party on social media of antisemitism and ties to criminal clans.