By: Tzirel Rosenblatt

Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, issued a stark warning this week about what he described as an alarming and accelerating rise in left-wing antisemitism in Germany—an insidious trend he said now poses a greater danger than right-wing or Islamist extremism. In a sobering interview with Berliner Morgenpost, reported by The Algemeiner, Prosor lamented the deepening climate of fear experienced by Germany’s Jewish community and called out the country’s political establishment for failing to draw a moral line between legitimate criticism of Israel and outright antisemitic incitement.

According to the report that appeared on Tuesday in The Algemeiner, the ambassador’s comments came amid a growing political scandal involving the youth wing of Germany’s Left Party (Die Linke), which has in recent weeks adopted openly anti-Israel positions and allegedly harassed Jewish members during its federal congress. The group’s rhetoric—branding Zionists “traitors” and characterizing Israel as a “colonial and racist state project”—has reignited national debate about the limits of free speech, the normalization of antisemitic discourse, and Germany’s moral obligations toward its Jewish citizens.

Prosor, who has served as Israel’s envoy in Berlin since 2022, described a daily atmosphere of intimidation and insecurity for Jews in Germany, particularly in major cities like Berlin, Cologne, and Frankfurt. “In 2025, Jewish men and women fear attending university or riding the subway because they are visibly Jewish,” he said. “That schools, community centers, and synagogues require round-the-clock police protection is not normal.”

As The Algemeiner report noted, Prosor’s words reflect a broader anxiety that has gripped Germany’s Jewish population since the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel. The attacks, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, were followed by a surge in antisemitic incidents across Europe—including vandalism of Jewish institutions, harassment of students, and the proliferation of anti-Israel propaganda masquerading as human rights advocacy.

Prosor specifically cited Berlin’s Neukölln district, home to a large Arab population, as an area where Jews are advised not to walk openly wearing a Star of David. “It’s better not to walk down Sonnenallee with any visible Jewish symbol,” he told the paper, referring to the street now notorious for anti-Israel demonstrations and extremist activity.

While right-wing extremism has long been recognized as a source of antisemitic violence in Europe, Prosor argued that the left-wing variant—which cloaks itself in the language of justice and human rights—has become more pervasive and socially acceptable.

“Left-wing antisemitism, in my view, is even more dangerous because it masks its intentions,” he told Berliner Morgenpost, as cited in The Algemeiner report. “It has long operated on the thin line between free speech and incitement.”

Prosor pointed to the normalization of anti-Israel sentiment in cultural and academic spaces as evidence of this transformation. “Across Europe, this is visible on university campuses and in theaters. Many present themselves as educated, moral, and progressive—yet the line separating free speech from incitement was crossed long ago. Israel is demonized and delegitimized day after day, and it is Jews everywhere who ultimately suffer the consequences.”

The Algemeiner has frequently documented similar developments in Western academia and arts institutions, where anti-Zionist rhetoric has blurred into antisemitism. Germany’s own universities have faced mounting criticism for failing to protect Jewish students from harassment during campus protests.

Prosor’s alarm follows a series of deeply troubling incidents involving the Left Party’s youth organization (Linksjugend), which recently adopted a motion denouncing Israel as a “colonial and racist state project.” During the group’s 18th Federal Congress last weekend, Jewish delegates were reportedly subjected to intimidation and harassment.

According to the information provided in The Algemeiner report, multiple attendees said they were labeled “traitors” for defending Israel’s right to exist, with some being warned of an internal “purge.” Others left the congress early after colleagues allegedly threatened to confront them at their hotel rooms during the night.

The youth group has since announced plans to vote on additional measures next week—one accusing Israel of “genocide” in Gaza and another endorsing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, an international movement widely condemned for seeking to isolate Israel economically and culturally.

Germany’s intelligence agencies have already deemed BDS a “proven extremist endeavor hostile to the constitution,” a designation noted in The Algemeiner report. The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which reports to the Interior Ministry, warned that BDS’s ideology “denies Israel’s right to exist” and has direct ties to secular Palestinian extremism. The federal agency (BfV) went further last year, classifying the movement as a “suspected extremist case.”

In response to the youth wing’s conduct, Ambassador Prosor issued a pointed statement on X (formerly Twitter), condemning the group’s actions as the unveiling of “the true face of left-wing antisemitism.”

“The red line has been crossed,” Prosor declared. “By justifying terror, turning a blind eye to antisemitism, and denying Israel’s right to exist, the Left Party has abandoned its moral compass and integrity. All that remains is extremism, radical ideology, and violence.”

As The Algemeiner reported, Prosor’s remarks have put renewed pressure on the leadership of the Left Party to distance itself from its youth arm. Though the youth organization is technically autonomous, it receives financial support from the main party. Following an emergency meeting, the party’s executive committee issued a statement acknowledging that the resolution passed by its youth wing “is inconsistent with the positions of the Left Party.”

“Antisemitism and the downplaying of antisemitic positions contradict the core values of the Left,” the party said. “Intimidation, pressure, and exclusion have no place in a left-wing youth organization, and even less in the political culture we uphold as the Left.”

Nevertheless, Prosor and other observers noted that this rebuke may be too little, too late. As The Algemeiner report called attention to, this is not the first time Die Linke has faced antisemitism scandals. Prominent members such as Berlin’s former Culture Senator Klaus Lederer left the party last year after antisemitic incidents at a regional conference.

Prosor’s warnings echo what The Algemeiner report described as a continental crisis of moral clarity. In recent years, antisemitism in Europe has evolved beyond the margins of extremist movements and entered mainstream political and cultural institutions. From progressive student unions to human rights NGOs, anti-Israel ideology has often been repackaged as a moral crusade—stripping Jews and Israelis of their right to self-definition and security under the guise of “anti-colonialism.”

For Germany—a nation still haunted by the memory of the Holocaust—this evolution carries particular resonance. Prosor’s remarks expose the deep contradiction at the heart of modern German politics: while official Berlin remains one of Israel’s most steadfast allies, elements of its political and cultural elite are increasingly sympathetic to anti-Israel narratives.

The Algemeiner report noted that the Left Party’s rhetoric mirrors similar patterns seen across Europe, where radical factions on both the far right and far left converge in their hostility toward Israel. What distinguishes the left-wing variant, Prosor said, is its ability to “cloak hatred in human rights language,” granting social legitimacy to views that would once have been recognized as antisemitic.

The German government has sought to present itself as a global leader in combating antisemitism. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense and pledged support for Jewish life in Germany. Yet, as The Algemeiner reported, the persistence of antisemitic incidents—particularly in academic and activist circles—has revealed the limits of government policy when ideology is disguised as humanitarian concern.

“The line between legitimate criticism of Israeli policy and the demonization of the Jewish state is not a fine one—it is a moral one,” Prosor emphasized. “When that line is crossed, democracy itself is endangered.”

Indeed, the paradox facing Germany’s left is profound. A party founded on anti-fascist principles now finds its youth wing accused of harboring the very prejudices it claims to oppose. Analysts told The Algemeiner that unless Die Linke enforces stricter oversight and accountability, it risks irreparably damaging its reputation as a progressive force.

For Prosor, the path forward requires not just policy but principle. He urged German leaders, educators, and journalists to confront antisemitism “wherever it hides—whether in a swastika or in a slogan about liberation.” He cautioned against the false neutrality of those who equate Israel with its attackers.

“Germany has a moral obligation, born of its history, to safeguard Jewish life and to ensure that the vilification of Israel never again becomes socially acceptable,” he said.

The Algemeiner report observed that Prosor’s appeal resonates far beyond Berlin. Across the West, the resurgence of antisemitism has often followed the same pattern: selective empathy, selective outrage, and the rewriting of history in service of ideology. The ambassador’s warning, then, is not only for Germany—it is for all democratic societies that pride themselves on moral enlightenment while tolerating hatred cloaked in virtue.

As The Algemeiner report noted, the current crisis within Germany’s Left Party reflects a larger moral reckoning. The question is no longer whether antisemitism exists on the political left—it is how far it will be allowed to spread under the banner of progressivism.

Ambassador Prosor’s message is both urgent and timeless: antisemitism does not vanish when it changes its language. Whether it appears in the chants of neo-Nazis or the resolutions of student activists, the result is the same—Jewish isolation, fear, and dehumanization.

The ambassador’s words, delivered with characteristic clarity, serve as a reminder that the struggle against antisemitism is not confined to history. It is unfolding now, in the streets of Berlin, on the campuses of Europe, and in the political parties that claim to stand for justice.

As Prosor warned, “The line between moral courage and moral collapse is very thin. Germany cannot afford to stand on the wrong side of it.”