In the quiet, rule-bound world of German coalition politics, a candidate poised to lead Berlin found her private fear laid bare by an accident of paperwork. Elif Eralp of the Left Party, whose party topped the city's recent election, had hesitated to name a pro-Palestinian activist whose past praise of Yahya Sinwar had drawn scrutiny, citing danger to herself and her family. The episode turns on a familiar human tension: the duty to speak plainly about hatred against a whole community, weighed against the instinct to protect one's household. Whether her hesitation is read as prudence or as eva
Berlin's Elif Eralp Under Fire After Der Spiegel Reports Security Fears Over Pro-Palestinian Activist
"I can't put myself and my family in danger for Der Spiegel."
Mark
Why did this one leaked Word document become such a big story?
Mimi
Because it put a private fear next to a public question. She had first said yes when asked if she meant Ibrahim, then crossed it out and wrote about her family's safety.
Mark
And Der Spiegel published it anyway.
Mimi
They said her security concerns were a reason not to, but the political weight won out. They believe the public should know.
Luke
Worth separating what's documented. The magazine says the notes were left in by accident. That's Der Spiegel's belief, not something Eralp has confirmed. She has declined to discuss the specifics.
Mark
What about the police advice?
Mimi
The notes say Berlin police had earlier advised her not to comment on specific individuals. That comes from her own annotations as reported by the magazine.
Luke
Right, and nothing in the reporting says what threat, if any, actually exists, or who made it. The link to pro-Palestinian activists is described as appearing to exist.
Mark
Ibrahim himself denies the accusations?
Mimi
He rejects accusations of antisemitism and of backing terrorism or Hamas, though he has called Sinwar a martyr and a hero.
Luke
And the critics are mostly political rivals with coalition talks coming. That doesn't make them wrong, but it's context.
Mark
Ramelow's defense frames it differently.
Mimi
He says the story made a vulnerable person more vulnerable and leaned on a cliché of a weak woman. The coalition decisions will show which framing sticks.
Der Puls
- A private note meant for no one's eyes went back to Der Spiegel, and a candidate's fear of reprisals against her family became public news.
- Politicians across the spectrum have seized on the leaked words, with an SPD figure calling for distance and a Greens leader asking whether she can resist pressure from her own ranks.
- Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, has warned that governing responsibility should not go to a party seen as unable to distance itself from terrorist sympathizers.
- Eralp has promised a hard line against terror, organized crime and violence while refusing to discuss the specifics, and her allies call the report a cruel portrayal of a vulnerable woman.
- Coalition talks next month will decide whether the Left can move from first place to power, and the outcome may hinge on how directly she addresses antisemitism.
In the quiet, rule-bound world of German coalition politics, a candidate poised to lead Berlin found her private fear laid bare by an accident of paperwork. Elif Eralp of the Left Party, whose party topped the city's recent election, had hesitated to name a pro-Palestinian activist whose past praise of Yahya Sinwar had drawn scrutiny, citing danger to herself and her family. The episode turns on a familiar human tension: the duty to speak plainly about hatred against a whole community, weighed against the instinct to protect one's household. Whether her hesitation is read as prudence or as evasion now depends on the parties she may need as partners.
On Thursday, Elif Eralp, the Left Party candidate in line to become Berlin's next mayor, found herself defending her fitness for office over a document she never intended anyone to read. It was the edited transcript of an interview she had given Der Spiegel, and it returned to the magazine's reporters with her private comments still inside.
The interview had asked about antisemitism accusations against members of her party, which followed incidents at the Left's Neukölln election celebration. A pro-Palestinian activist linked to the PFLP, a group the EU classifies as terrorist, attended the event. He had previously called Yahya Sinwar a martyr and a hero. He denies antisemitism and any support for Hamas. Eralp first answered yes when asked whether she meant that case, then later crossed the answer out and wrote that she could not put herself and her family in danger for the magazine.
Der Spiegel published the notes, arguing that the public interest outweighed the security concerns. Politicians quickly responded. Karl Lauterbach urged his party to keep its distance from the Left, while the Greens and the head of the Central Council of Jews raised doubts about her ability to confront extremism.
Eralp condemned what she called a toxic debate, vowed not to be intimidated, and promised a hard line on terror and violence. Bodo Ramelow defended her, calling the report a cruel caricature of a vulnerable woman. Now the question rests with the SPD and the Greens, whose coalition talks with the Left come next month.
On Thursday, Elif Eralp, the Left Party candidate on course to become Berlin's next mayor, found herself defending her fitness for office over a Word document she never meant anyone to read. The document was the edited transcript of an interview she had given Der Spiegel, and it went back to the magazine's reporters with her private comments still in it.
The interview took place on Monday in Eralp's office in Berlin's House of Representatives. Eralp is 45, and her party, Die Linke, finished first in the city-state's elections last month. The reporters asked her about accusations of antisemitism leveled at members of her party. Those accusations followed at least two occasions when people with questionable backgrounds turned up to celebrate the election result.
One was the Left Party's election celebration in Neukölln. A pro-Palestinian activist associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attended; the European Union classifies the PFLP as a terrorist organization. The activist, Ibrahim Ibrahim, has in the past called Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader in Gaza and widely regarded as the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, a "martyr" and a "hero." He has since rejected accusations of antisemitism and of supporting terrorism or Hamas.
Asked whether she was referring to the Ibrahim incident, Eralp first answered "yes." Later, she returned the transcript with the question crossed out and a note about safety. Under German practice, interviewees review and approve their direct quotations before publication. According to Der Spiegel, she wrote in the edit: "I can't put myself and my family in danger for Der Spiegel." She is also quoted as asking her press officer and other party colleagues, "What do we do now? Cancel the whole interview?" and as writing, "I should never have agreed to this interview." Other notes, which the magazine believes were left in by accident, said Berlin police had previously advised her not to comment on specific individuals.
Der Spiegel chose to publish the notes and explained why. "There were reasons not to publish – Eralp's security concerns first and foremost," it wrote, but their political importance outweighed those reasons, and the magazine said the public should know. It also asked whether a woman too frightened to name a terrorist sympathizer could be responsible for the security of all Berliners. Some politicians took up that question, asking whether she was the right person to lead the city.
The sharpest reactions came from the parties the Left is due to open coalition talks with next month. Karl Lauterbach of the SPD, who became prominent as health minister during the Covid-19 pandemic, said he would advise his party to distance itself from an alliance with the Left. SPD internal affairs spokesman Sebastian Fiedler said further coalition talks should be out of the question for any social democrat. Katharina Dröge, who leads the Greens' parliamentary group, asked in the Süddeutsche Zeitung whether Eralp would keep being influenced by people in her own ranks who are close to criminal groups and tolerate threats and intimidation toward their own lead candidate, or whether she would give a clear and tough response. Josef Schuster, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the SPD and Greens must not hand governmental responsibility for Berlin, or for the Jewish community's security, to a party he called incapable of distancing itself from terrorist sympathizers and antisemites.
Eralp answered later on Thursday. She condemned a "truly toxic debate," said she would not be intimidated, and promised a hard line against organized crime, organizations that glorify violence, violence itself and terror. She declined to discuss the specifics of the Spiegel story but said she would ensure the security of all Berliners.
Bodo Ramelow, a veteran Left Party figure and vice-president of the German parliament, defended her. He called the Spiegel report "more than questionable," saying it targeted a person who feels vulnerable and made her more so, and that it used internal communications to paint an "anachronistic cliché" of a "weak woman."
What happens next rests with the SPD and the Greens. Their coalition talks with the Left are due next month, and their decisions may turn on whether Eralp addresses the antisemitism concerns directly.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
I would advise my party to distance itself from an alliance with the Left Party.— Karl Lauterbach, SPD
The reporting targeted a person who feels vulnerable and made them even more vulnerable.— Bodo Ramelow, Left Party, vice-president of the German parliament
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