A sentence that should have remained confidential risks becoming a political case for the next Berlin council. Elif Eralp, candidate for mayor of Linke, would have admitted that she was afraid of some Palestinian sympathizers with contacts with Hamas, close to some members of her party. Words contained in the notes to an interview with the German periodical Spiegel, remained by mistake in the document returned to the weekly during the revision of the text.
Spiegel’s choice and the Berlin mayor’s response
The magazine decided to publish them, raising a question about the possible future leadership of the German capital: “Can such a person assume responsibility for the security of the city?”. The affair affects Eralp while Linke, after having established itself in the elections of 20 September, is working on the formation of a coalition with the Social Democrats and the Greens.
According to Spiegel’s reconstruction, in the internal notes the candidate explained that she did not want to express herself publicly about some people for fear of the consequences. He would have written that he was “afraid of these people”, also expressing concern about exposing his family.
Eralp’s response arrived quickly. “The safety of the city will have absolute priority,” he assured in a statement to the press. “What I can say for sure is that I will take care of the safety of all Berliners and Berliners.” The candidate also claimed her determination to fight organized crime, violence and terrorism, maintaining that concern for family members does not equate to being intimidated.
Who would be the man feared by the new mayor
The man at the center of the fears would, according to the BildIbrahim Ibrahim, 69 years old, exponent of the radical circles of the Palestinian cause and among the main supporters of the Pflp, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Considered a Hamas sympathizer, in September he appeared at the Linke election party in Berlin-Neukölln alongside Vanessa Emde, a Berlin member of the party, known for her harsh criticism of Israel and for having made solidarity with Palestine one of the themes of her election campaign.
Precisely a question about Ibrahim, asked during a passage of the interview dedicated to anti-Semitism in the Linke, would have provoked the request for modification. According to what was reconstructed by Tagesspiegel, Eralp would have asked to delete both the question and his answer, motivating the decision with fears for personal and family safety. Her spokesperson reported that the candidate has been the target of threats and hostility for months.
The controversy is part of a discussion that has been putting pressure on the Berlin left for weeks, accused of not having taken a sufficiently clear position against anti-Semitism. An issue that also complicated the exploratory talks with the Greens and SPD for the formation of the city-Land government. Eralp, who aims to lead the coalition, has repeatedly distanced himself from anti-Semitism.
The Spiegel justified the publication of the notes with the political relevance of the information. For the candidate, the case opens up a delicate front on her path to governing the capital: reassuring Berliners of her ability to guarantee their safety, while the fears she had confided to her staff become public.