NEW YORK – The World Jewish Congress has co-signed a joint declaration initiated by the Central Council of Jews in Germany condemning the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a “racist and anti-Semitic party” and a “threat to Jewish life in Germany.”
The declaration, entitled No Alternative for Jews, was released on the same day that a separate group called Jews for the AfD marked its official launch in Weisbaden.
Read the full declaration in German here
“The AfD is not a party for Jews… the AfD is a party in which hatred of the Jews and the denial of the Shoah have a home,” the declaration reads. “The AfD is anti-democratic, inhumane and in many parts, right-wing extremist.”
The recent violent neo-Nazi march in Chemnitz, the declaration continues, ”should be enough to show the demonstrate the spirit of the AfD, where AfD representatives marched side by side with neo-Nazis, hooligans, and Pegida supporters, not shying away from taking to the streets with people giving the Hitler salute… The AfD sows hatred and divides society. It incites people and attacks our democracy on a daily basis. The AfD is increasingly radicalized and does not shy away from rewriting history.”
“The undersigned Jewish organizations and associations call upon all democratic forces within and outside the Jewish community to engage openly and visibly against any form of anti-democratic, anti-Semitic, racist and nationalistic ideology in Germany, Austria and France,” the declaration concludes.