German MP quits citing death threats and ‘intolerable’ antisemitism
'It's over. And I don't want to anymore' says Andreas Büttner, Brandenburg’s commissioner for antisemitism after arson attacks and death threats
A German commissioner for antisemitism has quit the country’s Left Party, warning antisemitism within it has become intolerable.
Andreas Büttner, a member since 2015, said he was resigning ahead of internal expulsion proceedings aimed at removing him and relentless personal attacks.
He added that the party’s rejection of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition made it impossible to stay.
The last straw, according to newspaper Juedische-Allgemeine (Jewish General) was a resolution passed at the Lower Saxony (a federal state in northwestern Germany) Left Party’s state convention the previous weekend, where 104 of the 157 delegates voted in favour of a motion called “Rejection of Zionism” and passed resolutions branding Israel a “genocidal state” and an “apartheid state.”
In a letter to his party leadership which begins and ends with the words, “It’s over. And I don’t want to anymore”, Büttner wrote: “I struggled with this decision for a long time, as I have felt a deep connection to the party over many years. But I have reached a point where I must acknowledge that I can no longer remain a member of this party without betraying my own convictions.”
He added: “The fight against antisemitism is a task that transcends party lines. All the more shocking for me is what I have had to witness within my own party for years.”
In January 2026, Büttner’s shed was set on fire with a Hamas symbol painted nearby; the suspected arson followed his car being defaced with a swastika in August 2024 and a death threat.
Whilst expressing regret over his former colleague’s resignation, Federal party leader Jan van Aken rejected any accusations of antisemitism within the Left Party, stating that it “stands unequivocally against antisemitism.”
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