Party conference
Greens demonstrate unity in their stance on the Gaza war
The people of Israel would never be able to live in safety “if this terror is not combated,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
The Greens have a few controversial issues to clarify at their party conference in Karlsruhe, for example regarding migration policy. When it comes to the Gaza war and solidarity with Israel, however, they show unity.
The Greens stand on Israel’s side in the fight against the Islamist Hamas and emphasize the Israeli state’s right to self-defense. The people in Israel would never be able to live in security “if this terror is not combated,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The party conference unanimously approved a motion from the Federal Executive Board entitled “Solidarity with Israel: For Peace, Against Hatred and Terror” on Friday night in Karlsruhe.
Israel is fighting against Hamas and not against the Palestinians and has the right and duty to defend its citizens within the framework of international humanitarian law, said Baerbock, who supported the motion. The violence perpetrated by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, however, is not in Israel’s security interests. Party leader Ricarda Lang called on the delegates to name anti-Semitism “where it hurts,” not just in right-wing extremism, but also “in their own left-wing circle of friends,” for example.
The Palestinian civilian population is suffering from Israel’s war against Hamas, according to the adopted motion. Thousands of civilians, “including many children, are dying as a result of the war.” This is “also part of the terrorists’ cynical calculations,” as Hamas abuses the population as human shields and hides weapons and fighters in and under civilian infrastructure. We are working for the release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas as well as for ceasefires and safe corridors so that aid deliveries can reach people in need. The “rocket terror of Hamas and other extremist groups” must be stopped immediately.
The text of the motion continues: “After the end of the conflict, we advocate an end to the policy of sealing off the Gaza Strip while safeguarding Israeli security interests. We call for coordinated reconstruction aid for the Gaza Strip, in which the EU should also participate. We call for an active role for the United Nations in efforts to establish and secure peace in the region.”
The topic of anti-Semitism
The Greens are concerned about “a worrying upsurge” in anti-Semitic hate speech and violence. “This anti-Semitism runs through all parts of our society and is not primarily a problem of the immigration society.”
There were originally 28 amendments to the Federal Executive Board’s proposal. After extensive negotiations between the applicants and the party executive, only one was left – in return, the executive revised the submitted text. The remaining amendment, which delegates rejected by a large majority, called for the deployment of UN peacekeepers to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank “in order to permanently prevent further terrorist actions, in close cooperation with the Palestinian security authorities.”
Delegate Zohra Mohjadeddi from Hamburg, who called for changes to the Federal Executive Board’s motion that was later passed, called on the party conference not to forget the suffering of the population in the Gaza Strip. “Gaza is a killing zone where entire families are wiped out by airstrikes,” she said. Like French President Emmanuel Macron, the Greens should ask themselves whether Israel’s military goal justifies the high number of deaths among the civilian population. “We think no,” she said. Mohjadeddi thanked Baerbock for her commitment to a two-state solution. International humanitarian law must be observed by all warring parties in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Unlike other debates, no speakers were selected for this agenda item. It is important that there is a “sign of solidarity with Israel, also a clear signal on the issue of anti-Semitism,” explained the political director of the Green Party, Emily Büning. But it was also clear that the management did not want to take the risk of unpredictable speeches.
New election of the Federal Executive Board
This Friday, at the Green party conference, among other things, the new election of the six-member federal executive board is taking place. The re-election of the two party leaders Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour is considered certain. In addition, the more than 800 delegates should begin voting for places on the list for the European elections. The leader of the Green Party in the EU Parliament, Terry Reintke, is running for first place.
An open letter was distributed in the exhibition hall in Karlsruhe in which the delegates were appealed to vote for the China expert Janka Oertel as a promising candidate for the European elections. Among those listed as signatories were the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, and the head of the security policy research group at the Science and Politics Foundation, Claudia Major.
Greens to the party congress motion from the Federal Executive Board on the Gaza War Amendment to the motion from the Federal Executive Board on the Gaza War