The spectacular electoral victory of the right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt represents a threat to both Germany and Europe, reminding us that antisemitism is on the rise again in Europe. “AfD often employs camouflaged antisemitic ideas and slogans or tolerates antisemitism in its midst, but at times it also disseminates overt antisemitic propaganda,” notes a Report from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) by Lars Rensmann.
“AfD’s election win in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt marks a grim milestone: The party is now within reach of forming Germany’s first far-right state government since the Nazi era,” AJC posted on X on 6 September. The AJC “has been sounding the alarm on the AfD’s rampant, intrinsic, and foundational antisemitism that is deeply embedded in its authoritarian-nationalist politics. The AfD’s rise remains a threat to German democracy and the future of Europe.”
Similar concerns are advanced by Yonathan Arfi, President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF).
“The AfD, a shadow over German democracy, a threat to Jews! The AfD is a party with neo-Nazi undertones, which claims, among other things, to put an end to “the teaching of guilt for the Shoah,” Arfi posted on X, highlighting that those in France who rejoice at the AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt cannot claim to fight antisemitism in France.
Arfi reported a conversation with Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat).
He “expressed to me his great concern over this regional victory of the AfD. In the event of a national victory, this party would represent a threat to the very future of Jews in Germany.”
The president of CRIF emphasised that several factors promote antisemitism in Germany and Europe. However, the AfD’s victory represents a threat to both German democracy and the Jewish communities in Germany.
“For while the far right is not the only vector of antisemitism in Germany—marked also by the rise of the far left and Islamism—normalising the AfD’s victory means supporting a party that poses a clear threat both to German democracy, refounded after the war, and, among others, to German Jews.”
“At a time when some are even evoking a nightmarish alliance between the AfD and the far left, this political earthquake reminds us that, 80 years after the Shoah, democratic values are never definitively secured: they are fragile and must be defended. In Germany, as in France,” highlighted Yonathan Arfi.
