Elif Eralp, Berlin’s mayoral candidate, and the city branch of The Left filed a criminal complaint against Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, alleging defamation and insult over his televised affirmation that she was an “anti-Semite.”
On a Thursday talk show, the moderator mistakenly said Eralp called herself an anti-Semite, then corrected himself. Dobrindt replied, “Oh yes she is.” Lawyer Jasper Prigge told dpa the complaint says Dobrindt endorsed a defamatory and insulting description.
The Left won Berlin’s September 20 state election with 25.7% of the vote, and Eralp and the party look set to lead the regional government. Centrist and centre-right politicians accused the party of anti-Semitic tendencies over comments about Israel; The Left denies the charge. Eralp has condemned anti-Semitism and calls for violence and reaffirmed Israel’s right to exist. Dobrindt had earlier accused the Berlin branch of tolerating anti-Semites and extremists.
