The Anti-Defamation Commission, Australia’s leading organisation fighting hatred in all its forms, has expressed its concern about the success of the far-right AfD party in the German elections. According to reports, the AfD has secured 13% of the vote, the first time in almost six decades that an openly nationalist party has gained enough votes to enter the Bundestag.
Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“We congratulate Chancellor Angela Merkel who has won another term and who lead Germany for the next four years. Chancellor Merkel has been a very strong supporter of the Jewish-German community and of Israel. At the same time, we are tremendously concerned that the AfD, a populist and right-wing party , who has promoted an extremist and anti-migrant platform that demonises minorities, will now enter the German parliament. We recall that Frauke Petry, one of party’s most prominent figures, maintained last year that there were situations where German border officials could legitimately shoot refugees trying to cross the border. We also recall the anti-Semitic words of Björn Höcke, one of the founders of the AfD, who said this year, in reference to the Holocaust memorial in Berlin, that Germans needed to, “make a 180 degree change in their politics of commemoration” after describing the memorial as a “memorial of shame.” He also claimed that, “This laughable policy of coming to terms with the past is crippling us. There were no German victims any more, only German perpetrators.” It is our hope that other parties adopt a united front in refusing to form a coalition with the Afd so as to ensure that it gains not representation in the coming governing coalition. Naturally, the Jewish community in Germany is alarmed by this result, especially given that so far, anti-Semitic crimes in Germany have risen by four percent.”
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading civil rights organization fighting racism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677.