Frauke Petry, the leader of the far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany, claimed that her party was "one of the few political guarantors of Jewish life, even in times of illegal anti-Semitic migration to Germany."
"The AfD continually points out the dangers of such developments that have intensified as a result of the massive illegal immigration in recent years," Petry told 'Die Welt' in an interview. She rejected the charge made last week by World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder, who in an interview with the same newspaper had called the AfD "a disgrace for Germany" and expressed hope that the party would soon disappear from the political landscape.
Pointing to what she regarded as growing dangers for Jews due to "illegal anti-Semitic migration" [of Muslims], Petry said the AfD was "one of the few guarantors of Jewish life in Germany. The AfD has been democratically elected to several regional legislatures and is therefore a legitimate force in German politics," she told 'Die Welt'.
According to Petry, the AfD was highlighting the dangers of massive illegal immigration and was also opposed to a boycott of Israel which was promoted by left-wing parties.
"This party has no place in Germany. I hope they soon disappear from the political stage," Ronald Lauder told 'Die Welt'. Asked what he made of recent remarks by Björn Höcke, one of the AfD's leading figures who declined to call Adolf Hitler "absolute evil," Lauder said: "What he said in his speech in Dresden and his interview with the 'Wall Street Journal' was absolutely shocking and repulsive. He sounded like an apologist for Hitler. It is clear to me that AfD party panders to the extreme-right. They are playing with fire," Lauder said.
Knobloch: AfD is 'brazen and dishonest'
Charlotte Knobloch, the head of the Munich Jewish community and World Jewish Congress Commissioner for Holocaust memory, categorically rejected Petry's remarks. "It is incredibly brazen and dishonest that the AfD is now trying to exploit the justified concerns that exist among Jews when it comes to anti-Semitism among Muslims in Germany."
Knobloch said in a press release that the AfD stood for revisionism, policies limiting freedom of religious practice and didn't little to nothing against racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic statements among its own ranks. She called the AfD an "anti-modern, anti-democratic and xenophobic" political force and echoed Lauder's words, saying: "It is a disgrace for our country and a party that is not electable for Jewish people!"
In its party program and election platform, the AfD calls for a ban on religious slaughter. Moves to also call for a ban on religious circumcision were rejected by the party convention last year.
Schuster: 'Can do without AfD'
Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, also rejected Petry's remarks. He accused the AfD of pandering to the extremes and of stirring hatred against minorities. "We can do without such guarantors," Schuster said.
Support for the party, which was established in 2013, has declined as immigration has fallen out of the headlines. In opinion surveys, the AfD is polling between 7 and 11 percent, above the 5 percent threshold to enter parliament but well below its high of 15.5 percent at the end of 2016.