The Jewish German organization WerteInitiative - jüdisch-deutsche Positionen e.V. has issued an open letter to Berlin's democratic parties, arguing that the political "firewall" used to exclude the AfD from government cooperation must also apply to extremism on the political Left.
WerteInitiative, which describes itself as a Jewish civil-society voice in Germany and has been active since 2014, says it works to secure the future of Jewish life in Germany and strengthen the values of the country's free and democratic constitutional order from a Jewish perspective. The organization also promotes Jewish civic engagement in Germany and German-Israeli relations.
Ahead of the September 20 election, the organization called on the CDU, SPD and Greens to explicitly rule out entering a government with the Left Party (Die Linke).
In the letter, WerteInitiative chairman Elio Adler argues that voters are deciding not only between parties and political platforms, but also which political forces could ultimately gain government responsibility.
According to the organization, a coalition consisting of Die Linke, the Greens and SPD is one realistic possibility, while a coalition of the CDU, SPD and Greens could provide an alternative.
WerteInitiative said that, in its view, a continuing series of incidents involving antisemitism, glorification of terrorism, authoritarian references and problematic cooperation has made Berlin's Left Party "a danger to Jewish life and to democracy."
Central to the organization's argument is the question of whether Germany's democratic parties apply the same standards to extremism regardless of whether it originates on the Right or the Left.
"A democracy capable of defending itself must not choose its standards according to the political direction from which authoritarianism, hatred of Jews or glorification of violence comes," the organization wrote.
WerteInitiative noted that in the case of the AfD, the position is clear: far-right networks, historical revisionism and authoritarian thinking are regarded as grounds for excluding the party from government cooperation.
The organization asked whether the same principle applies when antisemitism, authoritarian ideology or glorification of violence comes from the political Left.
"Where does your firewall against extremism run - and does it apply universally?" the letter asked.
The organization cited recent antisemitic and Stalinist statements from the Berlin Left Party's youth organization, which the party itself condemned as "shameful."
It also pointed to an August 29 campaign event organized by Die Linke Neukölln at which rapper Dahabflex performed. According to the letter, the rapper had previously attracted attention for romanticizing the Soviet Union and making positive references to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization and terrorist Leyla Khaled.
During the performance, according to WerteInitiative, he sang "Yalla Yalla Intifada" and "Death to the IDF." Party officials did not intervene during the performance, the letter stated, while the party leadership at the state level subsequently distanced itself from the incident.
WerteInitiative said Die Linke Neukölln had not distanced itself from the performance and had instead defended it.
The organization argued that these incidents should not be regarded merely as isolated controversies or internal disagreements within Die Linke. Instead, it explicitly compared what it described as the party's conduct to criticism commonly directed at the AfD.
"The problem has long ceased to be the individual scandals, but rather the political pattern," WerteInitiative stated.
According to the organization, radical political milieus are addressed, boundaries are subsequently crossed, and the party leadership then distances itself from the incidents while emphasizing its ability to govern.
"What was rightly recognized in the AfD as strategic double communication must not be trivialized as an internal party dispute when it occurs in Die Linke," the letter stated.
The organization therefore questioned how Die Linke could be considered fit to govern if, as WerteInitiative alleges, antisemitism, romanticization of terrorism and authoritarian ideologies have become part of its election campaign.
The letter also criticized Berlin's Left Party for describing the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism as an "important orientation," saying that this represents a departure from the IHRA consensus referred to by the German federal government and major Jewish organizations.
WerteInitiative noted that Berlin is home to Germany's largest Jewish community and said that since October 7, antisemitic and anti-Zionist mobilization, together with Islamist actors, have changed the city's public space.
According to the organization, Jews are not the only people affected, and secular Muslims, ex-Muslims, Iranian opposition activists, women and members of the queer community are also impacted.
"A clause in a coalition agreement cannot deradicalize an anti-democratic political milieu," the letter stated. "Antisemitism does not become less dangerous when it calls itself anti-Zionism. Authoritarian thinking does not become more democratic when the hammer and sickle are used instead of nationalist symbolism. Glorification of terrorism does not become acceptable because terrorists are described as a 'liberation movement.'"
The organization's third question asks whether the CDU, SPD and Greens can give voters a binding commitment before the election that a vote for them will not result in a government that includes Die Linke.
WerteInitiative said the question is directed particularly at the SPD and Greens, arguing that their voters should know whether their ballots could ultimately give the Left Party government responsibility.
It also called on the CDU to clarify whether it would be prepared to work with the SPD and Greens to create what the organization described as a democratic alternative.
The letter returned to its comparison with the treatment of the AfD, arguing that a political firewall loses credibility if the criteria for exclusion depend on which side of the political spectrum extremism comes from.
"A firewall is only credible if it is not drawn according to political direction or coalition-tactical opportunism," the letter said. "It is not about right versus left. It is about democratic or authoritarian. About consistently distancing oneself from extremism and antisemitism. About protecting minorities."
"For us as Jewish Berliners," it added, the issue ultimately raises a concrete question: "Do we have a safe future in this city?"
The letter concludes by calling on the CDU, SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen to exclude participation in a government with the current Left Party before the election.
"Not at some point. Now. Before the election," WerteInitiative wrote, saying such a commitment would serve Berlin, its free society and voters particularly threatened by antisemitism and extremism.