Steinmeier says antisemitism must have no influence on German governments or coalition-building

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Monday for political parties to draw an uncompromising line against antisemitism, saying protection of Jewish life must never become a bargaining chip in coalition negotiations or government formation.

Speaking at the opening of the Jewish Academy in Frankfurt, Steinmeier recalled Germany’s responsibility for the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered by Nazi Germany and its collaborators.

He warned that Jewish institutions in Germany still require extensive police protection and said antisemitic crimes and violence had risen sharply since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Steinmeier said criticism of Israeli policy crosses into antisemitism when it becomes a vehicle for denying Israel’s right to exist or advocating violence against Jews or the Israeli state.

“Whoever is a patriot, whoever wants to stand up for freedom, equality and human dignity, must stand by Jews in everyday life,” he said.

Steinmeier also issued a direct warning to Germany’s political parties.

“Whoever chants ‘Death to the Jews’ on the streets or demands the annihilation of the Jewish state must find no understanding or applause in any political party,” he said.

“Wherever coalitions are negotiated and governments are formed, this must be a condition: antisemitism must not be allowed to influence government policy anywhere in Germany.”

The Jewish Academy is the first nationwide, non-university Jewish educational institution established in Germany since the Holocaust and is intended as a center for Jewish scholarship, public debate and interreligious dialogue.