The left‑wing party’s leadership plans to adopt a motion that delivers a clear message against antisemitism at the federal party conference in June. According to ARD, the executive board approved a draft on Saturday via telephone. The motion urges members to take intra‑party responsibility and states unequivocally that antisemitic positions have no place within the party. As quoted from the document, “The Left stands against all forms of antisemitism and against the instrumentalisation of the Middle East conflict for internal political incitement”.
Earlier, the Lower Saxony branch of the Left had debated a resolution that rejected the “present‑day Zionism” of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government. The resolution also acknowledged the diverse historical strands of Zionism and expressed support for initiatives that promote reconciliation and a peaceful future for all peoples in the region.
In the same critique, the Lower Saxony Left accused the Israeli government of genocide through its military actions in the Gaza Strip, the blockade of aid, and the displacement of residents. It described the situation in Israel and the occupied territories as an “apartheid” that denies Palestinians many rights.
The new motion, as reported by ARD, declares that the party continues to affirm the right to self‑determination for Jews in the modern State of Israel, while equally recognising the same right for Palestinians. It therefore advocates an “integrative two‑state solution”.
The draft condemns both the “massacre of Hamas and allied militias on October 7” and the “systematically committed crimes” by the Israeli government in Gaza. At the same time, it attempts to reconcile divergent views within the party. The motion states that while the Left generally regards the situation as genocide, those who question whether the legal definition of genocide has been met should not be wrongly accused of denying or supporting Israeli war crimes.
According to ARD, the document will now be sent out to regional branches and will serve as a discussion basis until the party’s June conference in Potsdam. Further revisions are still possible before the motion is officially adopted and becomes a party line.