Internal notes accidentally sent to Der Spiegel reveal that Berlin mayoral candidate Elif Eralp and her husband fear retaliation from individuals associated with pro-Palestinian activism, exposing tensions within Germany’s Left Party as it seeks to lead the capital’s government.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Berlin’s prospective next mayor, Elif Eralp of Germany’s socialist Left Party, privately acknowledged that she and her husband fear individuals associated with Hamas sympathizers after her office accidentally forwarded confidential comments to the German news magazine Der Spiegel, exposing concerns she had sought to keep out of a published interview.
The disclosure, reported Thursday, Oct. 29, emerged during the authorization process for an interview in which Eralp was questioned about the presence of a controversial pro-Palestinian activist at a Left Party election celebration in Berlin.
According to Der Spiegel reporting summarized by Deutsche Welle, Eralp’s office returned an edited interview transcript without removing internal comments discussing her fears about publicly identifying an activist associated with extremist organizations.
The comments revealed that Eralp had considered abandoning the interview rather than discussing individuals she believed could threaten her family.
She and her husband had “Angst vor diesen Leuten,” meaning “fear of these people,” according to the internal notes.
The controversy concerns Ibrahim Ibrahim, a pro-Palestinian activist who attended a Left Party election celebration in Berlin’s Neukölln district following the September regional election.
Ibrahim has been associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, an organization designated as terrorist by the European Union and the United States. He has publicly praised former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, describing him as a martyr and hero, while rejecting allegations that he supports terrorism or Hamas.
His appearance at the party gathering raised questions about the relationship between Die Linke, Germany’s Left Party, and activists associated with extremist Palestinian organizations.
During the interview, Der Spiegel asked Eralp whether she was referring to Ibrahim when discussing Hamas sympathizers connected to the party’s political activities.
Eralp initially answered affirmatively but subsequently sought to remove both the question and her response from the authorized transcript.
In Germany, interview subjects commonly review their quotations before publication, a practice known as authorization. The procedure allows politicians and other interviewees to approve or request changes to their statements.
Eralp’s office inadvertently returned the transcript with comments explaining why she wanted the exchange removed.
“I cannot put myself and my family in danger for Der Spiegel,” Eralp wrote, according to the reporting examined by Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel.
She also questioned whether the entire interview could be withdrawn.
“What do we do now? Can we cancel the entire interview?” she wrote.
The internal correspondence referenced earlier advice from Berlin’s State Criminal Police Office, known as the LKA, concerning public statements about potentially dangerous individuals.
Eralp wrote that investigators had previously recommended avoiding the public identification of specific individuals during matters involving organized crime.
“The LKA said at the time that they recommend never naming specific names. At that time it was about organized crime. Now it’s about people with contacts to Hamas,” she wrote, according to German broadcaster ZDF.
Her remarks suggested that she considered publicly identifying Ibrahim or similar activists a possible security risk.
The notes also indicated that Eralp regretted agreeing to the interview.
She subsequently declined to discuss the private correspondence in detail, arguing that the magazine had published material never intended for public release.
In a statement Thursday, Eralp emphasized that her safety concerns would not prevent her from carrying out her political responsibilities.
“I will not allow myself to be intimidated by anyone,” she said, according to regional broadcaster RBB.
Eralp also pledged to address organized crime, terrorism and antisemitism if she becomes Berlin’s governing mayor.
The controversy comes as Die Linke negotiates a potential governing coalition with the Social Democrats and Greens following Berlin’s September parliamentary election.
The Left Party emerged as the leading political force in the election, positioning Eralp as a potential successor to the city’s previous leadership.
Her candidacy has attracted attention because it could place the party, which traces its institutional history partly to the former East German ruling Socialist Unity Party, at the head of the capital’s government.
Die Linke’s predecessor organizations underwent significant political changes following German reunification, eventually merging with western German left-wing movements to form the current party in 2007.
The party has long advocated socialist economic policies, expanded social welfare programs, increased public housing and a more critical approach to Western military alliances.
Its positions on Israel and the Palestinian territories have produced internal disagreements, particularly since the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent Gaza war.
Some party members have emphasized Palestinian national rights and opposition to Israeli military operations, while others have called for clearer condemnation of Hamas and antisemitism.
The presence of Ibrahim at the Neukölln election celebration intensified those disagreements.
The activist’s public statements concerning Hamas leaders and his associations with the PFLP have prompted criticism from politicians who question whether Die Linke has adequately separated itself from extremist organizations.
Eralp’s internal comments have now raised questions about whether the party’s leadership feels capable of openly confronting individuals it considers dangerous.
The disclosure prompted criticism from political opponents, including Social Democratic officials who questioned whether Eralp could effectively lead Berlin’s government while expressing private fears about publicly identifying controversial activists.
However, party leaders defended her and criticized Der Spiegel for publishing confidential remarks concerning her family’s safety.
Die Linke national leaders Ines Schwerdtner and Luigi Pantisano said the magazine had gone too far by releasing private material.
“That private contents from Elif Eralp were published in the course of the exaggerated debate about Die Linke, acutely threatening the safety of her family, goes too far,” the leaders said in a statement reported by Deutschlandfunk.
They said politicians occupying prominent public positions naturally consider the safety of their families, particularly when they have experienced threats.
The party leadership added that those concerns should not have been exposed through the publication of private correspondence.
Schwerdtner and Pantisano said they stood behind Eralp and her family.
The controversy has also generated debate among German journalists and legal commentators about the boundaries between public interest reporting and the protection of confidential interview material.
Felix Zimmermann, an editor at the German newspaper taz, argued that internal comments exchanged during interview authorization should generally be treated as confidential.
He acknowledged that Eralp’s office had made an embarrassing error but questioned whether the mistake justified publication of personal security concerns.
Other commentators argued that the public had a legitimate interest in understanding why a politician seeking to govern Berlin felt unable to identify a controversial activist.
Der Spiegel defended its editorial decision, with Berlin bureau chief Christoph Hickmann explaining that the magazine had weighed the possible consequences before publishing the material.
Hickmann said the editors unanimously concluded that the public interest outweighed the confidentiality concerns, although the decision had been difficult.
The magazine reasoned that a candidate seeking to lead Germany’s capital should be able to address questions about extremists and threats to public safety.
Some legal analysts have distinguished between an interview subject’s right to approve quotations and the separate question of whether journalists may publish internal comments accidentally provided to them.
According to legal analysis published by beck-aktuell, interview authorization agreements do not automatically establish confidentiality protections for every document or comment inadvertently shared with a newsroom.
Nevertheless, the publication of private communications can raise questions involving personal privacy, press freedom and the circumstances under which information was obtained.
The German Press Council has received complaints concerning the magazine’s handling of the interview material.
Eralp has also provided additional context for her safety concerns, saying she has faced threats following the September election and has been following advice from security authorities.
She maintained that carefully considering the risks associated with naming potentially dangerous individuals should not be interpreted as unwillingness to confront extremism.
In a subsequent video statement, she reiterated her commitment to public safety and said she takes professional guidance from law enforcement seriously.
Her party is preparing to decide whether to proceed with coalition negotiations involving the Social Democrats and Greens, a development that could determine whether Eralp ultimately becomes Berlin’s governing mayor.
The controversy has complicated those discussions by bringing the party’s relationships with pro-Palestinian activists and its approach to extremist organizations into renewed public scrutiny.
Eralp’s internal correspondence establishes that she expressed concerns about her family’s safety when discussing specific individuals. It does not establish that Ibrahim or other activists threatened her directly, nor does it demonstrate that the Left Party as a whole supports Hamas.
The dispute continues as Berlin’s political parties consider the formation of a new government and Eralp seeks to reassure potential coalition partners that she can address security concerns while protecting residents across the city.
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