Politics · Germany · 7 hrs ago
Left Party leader defends lawmaker’s comments on Israel
Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner defended lawmaker Vanessa Emde’s comments about Israel during a German TV interview.
Emde, a newly elected Berlin lawmaker from Neukölln, has said that states have no right to exist, only people do, and has said she will not withdraw her remarks.
Schwerdtner said Emde’s view is legally legitimate, but that she disagrees with it.
She said the Left Party supports the right of both Israel and Palestine to exist, as a basis for security in the Middle East.
The dispute has put Berlin’s Left Party under pressure amid debate over antisemitism and criticism of Israel within its ranks.
The party’s parliamentary group leadership is due to discuss how to handle Emde at an online meeting on Tuesday.
Schwerdtner also accused Chancellor Friedrich Merz of using the dispute to distract from his own government’s policies, while saying she wanted him to focus more on people’s problems.
Left Party co-chair Ines Schwerdtner defended lawmaker Vanessa Emde’s comments on Israel, saying her opinion was legitimate under international law.
Emde has argued that states have no right to exist, only people do, and repeated the view in an Instagram video.
Schwerdtner said she disagreed with Emde and that the party supports the right of Israel and Palestine to exist.
The Berlin Left Party’s parliamentary group leadership was due to discuss how to handle Emde at a digital meeting on Tuesday.
Schwerdtner also criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz over his opposition to a government in Berlin led by the Left Party.
- Who
- Left Party co-chair Ines Schwerdtner defended lawmaker Vanessa Emde’s comments on Israel.
- What
- Schwerdtner said Emde’s opinion was legitimate under international law, while stressing that she disagreed with it and that the party supports Israel’s and Palestine’s right to exist.
- When
- Schwerdtner’s remarks were reported on October 19, 2026. The parliamentary group leadership was due to meet on Tuesday.
- Where
- Schwerdtner spoke on ntv’s Pinar Atalay programme. The parliamentary group meeting was to be held online.
- Why
- Emde’s comments on Israel and antisemitism had prompted debate within the Berlin Left Party.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Emde repeated her view that states have no right to exist in an Instagram video.
Schwerdtner defended Emde’s comments on ntv’s Pinar Atalay programme.
The Berlin Left Party parliamentary group leadership was due to discuss how to handle Emde in an online meeting.
- Lawmaker
- Vanessa Emde
- Party co-chair
- Ines Schwerdtner
- Emde’s view
- States have no right to exist; only people do
- Party position
- Supports the right of Israel and Palestine to exist
- Meeting
- Berlin Left Party parliamentary group leadership, due to meet online on Tuesday
1 source
What people are saying
This opinion is absolutely legitimate. It is true under international law that states have no right to exist.
I do not agree with it; I am only saying that under international law she is right.
I stand by my statements, and I am not taking back a single one of them.
This is not permissible to protect our democracy. This cannot go on, stop it.