Two V politicians in Skåne, who were criticized for anti-Semitism, have left the party. At the same time, Kristofer Lundberg, chairman of V’s local association in Angered, is now excluded after showing support for the terrorist-classified Palestinian PFLP.
But the question is whether the exclusion is enough to appease the critics. The Jewish Central Council speaks of structural problems with anti-Semitism in the Left Party and has chosen to exclude V, together with SD, from its commemorations.
Sensitive allegations for V
For V, it is of the utmost importance to lift this porting, not least for symbolic reasons. A meeting with the Jewish Central Council is planned shortly. On Friday, there will also be a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East. It means a new opportunity for the political opponents to accuse V of anti-Semitism.
These accusations are sensitive for the Left Party, which likes to present itself as the main standard-bearer of anti-racism. The accusations could tarnish the party’s reputation and damage its trust among broad constituencies. They can also influence a future red-green cooperation. The Center Party has declared that V politicians’ anti-Semitic statements make government cooperation impossible.
All this makes the issue extra difficult for the Left Party, which needs to show a hard line against representatives who spread messages that can be perceived as anti-Semitic. Also internally in the party, there is some criticism of the party leadership for not acting quickly and forcefully enough against those who spread anti-Semitic messages.
Squeezed from different directions
But what makes the issue extra delicate is that there are also supporters, who think that the main problem is rather that the party does not criticize Israel harshly enough or pursue the cause of the Palestinians.
The commitment to the Palestine issue is great in V. The war in the Middle East in the last year has made the issue even more fiery, which has raised the tone and increased the polarization in domestic politics.
Critics within the Palestine movement have on several occasions criticized V and Nooshi Dadgostar for being too flat against Israel. Departure requirements have been raised. Most recently, some 30 Palestinian associations demanded in an appeal that Kristoffer Lundberg should not be excluded. This is also an important constituency for V.
Nooshi Dadgostar is thus squeezed from two different directions. It increases the pressure on her even more.