Jewish association calls on Hubert Aiwanger to engage seriously with allegations of antisemitism.
Bavaria’s Deputy Minister-President stonewalls instead of facing up squarely to the allegation that in his youth he published a deeply antisemitic pamphlet.
Berlin, 26.08.2023 – Following the suspicion raised by the Süddeutsche Zeitung that Hubertus Aiwanger, at the age of 17, was the responsible author behind the publication of an antisemitic hate pamphlet, comprehensive clarification is now urgently required.
Elio Adler, the chairman of the Jewish association WerteInitiative, comments: „In the case of an act that possibly took place around 35 years ago, how the act is dealt with is almost more important than the act itself. At present there is no sign that Aiwanger, who repeatedly operates at the right-wing populist end, is taking the allegations seriously. Such behaviour is unacceptable not only in a leading politician, but in any decent citizen.“
Despite the proximity in time to the Bavarian election, Mr Aiwanger is making it too easy for himself by speaking only of a „smear campaign“ against him. Should he have played a relevant role in producing the pamphlet, he would be untenable – all the more so after the way he is currently handling the allegations. If he was not involved in it, his behaviour is even harder to explain. Minister-President Söder, too, has a duty to comment publicly on the matter promptly.
Contact for enquiries: Elio Adler / Chairman of the association kontakt@werteinitiative.de / Tel: 030 / 234 580 20
About the association WerteInitiative – jüdisch-deutsche Positionen e.V.: WerteInitiative has established itself as a civil-society Jewish voice in Germany since 2014. We set out to secure the future of Jewish life in Germany. We therefore work to strengthen the values of the free democratic basic order from a Jewish perspective. We do this by promoting values-based political, social and media discourse, civic Jewish engagement in Germany and the German-Israeli relationship. For further information we ask you to visit our website: https://werteinitiative.de/
