Politics · Germany · 13 hrs ago
Green Party members criticize Claudia Roth over comments on historical guilt
Claudia Roth has faced criticism within Germany’s Green Party after revisiting comments she made about Israel and the Gaza war.
In a podcast published Wednesday, the former culture minister called her 2024 criticism of remarks made at the Berlin Film Festival a mistake.
Roth said she had felt intense pressure from the Central Council of Jews in Germany and others, and described friends asking when she would free herself from “this guilt of history.”
The Central Council says it never spoke with Roth about Israel or the Middle East, while Roth’s comments have drawn objections from more than 50 Green Party members.
They have asked the party’s national leadership to publicly challenge her remarks and oppose what they call antisemitic narratives.
The dispute revisits a 2024 Berlin Film Festival controversy over comments by award recipients about Israel’s actions in Gaza, including an accusation of genocide.
The party leadership is being urged to respond publicly, but the sources do not say whether it has done so.
More than 50 Green Party members have urged the party’s leadership to publicly reject Claudia Roth’s comments about Germany’s historical guilt and alleged pressure from the Central Council of Jews.
The members said Roth’s remarks had deeply unsettled them and called for criticism of what they described as antisemitic narratives.
The Central Council of Jews said it had never held official or informal talks with Roth about Israel or the Middle East.
Roth had described as a mistake her criticism of comments about Israel made at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival.
In a podcast, Roth said she had faced immense pressure from the Central Council and other groups, and recalled friends asking when she would free herself from “this guilt of history.”
- Who
- Claudia Roth, Green Party members and the Central Council of Jews in Germany are involved.
- What
- More than 50 Green Party members called for a public response to Roth’s remarks. The Central Council rejected her account of pressure from it.
- When
- The criticism was reported on November 8 and 9, 2026. Roth’s earlier remarks concerned events in 2024.
- Where
- Germany; the earlier controversy took place at the Berlin International Film Festival.
- Why
- Members objected to Roth’s comments about historical guilt and alleged pressure from the Central Council. The council said it had never discussed Israel or the Middle East with her.
Claudia Roth
Central Council of Jews in Germany
Pressure
Claudia Roth
Roth said she felt immense pressure from the Central Council and other groups when she criticized remarks made at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival.
Central Council of Jews in Germany
The council said there had never been official or informal talks with Roth about Israel or the Middle East.
Comments by award recipients at the Berlin International Film Festival prompted a debate about antisemitism, and Roth criticized some of their remarks.
Roth’s interview on the Jung & Naiv podcast was published, and she called some of her earlier comments a mistake.
More than 50 Green Party members wrote to the party leadership calling for a clear public response to Roth’s remarks.
- Signatories
- More than 50 Green Party members
- Organization
- The Green Party’s Antisemitism Network is an informal grouping, not an official working group.
- Earlier event
- Berlin International Film Festival, 2024
- Roth’s former role
- Federal minister of state for culture
- Council’s response
- It said it had never held official or informal talks with Roth about Israel or the Middle East.
2 sources
What people are saying
We were deeply unsettled by Claudia Roth’s comments in an interview with Tilo Jung about a release from this guilt of history and alleged pressure from the Central Council of Jews
We expect a clear public rejection from the federal executive committee
There have never been official or informal talks of the Central Council with Claudia Roth about Israel or the Middle East
When will you finally free yourself from this guilt of history? Or when will you deal with it differently?