Berlin Leadership Candidate Sought to Remove Hamas Supporter From Interview Over Safety Fears

Eralp’s spokesperson said she has faced daily threats, insults and hostility for months.

By Shula Rosen

A candidate seeking to lead Germany’s capital asked a news magazine to remove discussion of an alleged Hamas supporter from an interview because she feared for her family’s safety, according to internal comments her office accidentally sent to the publication.

Elif Eralp is the Left Party’s candidate to head the Berlin state government.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported Thursday that Eralp sought to delete an exchange concerning Ibrahim Ibrahim, a pro-Palestinian activist whom the magazine describes as a Hamas supporter with connections to the organization’s circles.

Ibrahim had attended an election event held by Eralp’s party in Berlin’s Neukölln district and was photographed with politicians from the party.

Der Spiegel sent Eralp’s office a transcript following an interview earlier this week for approval before publication.

Eralp requested the removal of the question about Ibrahim and her response.

She also inserted comments intended only for her staff, but those remarks remained in the document when her spokesperson returned it to the magazine.

In the comments, Eralp said she and her husband were afraid of the people she had been questioned about and that she would not risk her family for an interview.

She also asked her staff whether the interview could be withdrawn and expressed regret over agreeing to it.

Police had previously advised her not to publicly identify certain individuals, Eralp said.

She explained that the earlier situation concerned organized crime, while the current case involved people with connections to Hamas. The published information does not indicate that Ibrahim personally threatened her.

According to German reports, Ibrahim called Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar a “heroic martyr.”

He holds a central position in the United Palestinian National Committee, an organization classified as extremist by Berlin’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Ibrahim denies supporting terrorism.

Eralp’s spokesperson said she has faced daily threats, insults and hostility for months and that security officials have advised her against naming people alleged to have ties to organized crime or terrorist organizations.

Her office asked Der Spiegel to consider her safety.

The magazine nevertheless published the internal remarks, saying the public should know whether fear of particular individuals affects the statements and decisions of a candidate seeking to govern Berlin.