Mohamed Baaqoul is head of the Jusos Rüsselsheim-Raunheim, the youth organisation of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He is also an assessor in the SPD local association executive. But now his details have disappeared from the party website. In a chat that was made available to the newspaper BILD, the Young Socialist incites against the state of Israel.
He posted: “Israel is an apartheid state. The Zionists are running the apartheid state.
He thus equates the only democracy in the Middle East with a criminal state like South Africa in times of racial segregation. And: Because Zionists founded the state of Israel, Jew-haters consider the term Zionist a dirty word.
Afterwards, Baaqoul tries to play down his words: “Jews are my cousins in the faith!” Chat partner Mohammed Ali Slim (23) actively fights against Islamic extremism and anti-Semitism as a Muslim, doesn’t believe the SPD politician’s retreat. So he asks: “And Jews in Israel?”
Baaquoul’s answer: “If people actively work to drive people out of their homes, they are criminals to me.”
Finally, when asked if he really thinks Israel is an apartheid state, he replies: “Not only I think so, but virtually all human rights organisations do”.
BILD confronted the Juso leader with his disgusting statements. He postponed until “after my holiday”.
The state SPD takes a stand for this. “Such an attitude is not acceptable within the SPD,” clarifies SPD spokesperson Christoph Gehring. “The vice-chairwoman of Groß-Gerau, Kerstin Geis, had a very serious discussion with the author. It was agreed that he would attend a training course dealing with the Middle East conflict.”
Harsh criticism comes from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Ismael Tipi (63), a member of the state parliament, said: “It is frightening that such radical theories, which are usually expressed in Islamist circles, are put forward by a Juso leader and SPD board member. Unfortunately, it fits into the picture: just as little as Hesse’s SPD leader and Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser seems to take the fight against radical Islamism seriously, the SPD’s junior staff seems to be worried about anti-Semitic statements from their own ranks.”