Overview
- On Thursday, November 12, Berlin Governing Mayor Kai Wegner told the state parliament that "Antisemitismus ist nicht verhandelbar" and called for firm action against antisemitism across the city.
- Wegner said antisemitic incidents in Berlin have "exploded" since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and that Jewish parents report their children being insulted and harassed at school.
- He publicly criticized the preliminary talks between Die Linke, the Greens and the SPD for negotiating language on antisemitism and Israel's right to exist and said those topics must never be bargaining chips in government formation.
- Wegner anchored his appeal in historical responsibility by invoking November 9, 1938 and quoting Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer to stress that "never again" must guide current policy and security steps.
- The intervention, reported via dpa, raises pressure on the Rot-Grün-Rot talks to adopt clearer safeguards and could lead to sharper demands for prevention, school protection and policing measures to reassure Berlin's Jewish community.