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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1209626984397&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Political Leader from German Left Backs Israel
[Jerusalem Post] Benjamin Weinthal - "Anti-Zionism cannot be, or at least can no longer be, a tenable position for the left in general, for the party, the Left, especially," said Gregor Gysi, the co-chairman of the Left, the successor political party to the Socialist Party of the now defunct East Germany, in mid-April. Gysi broke ranks with the pro-Palestinian and pro-Arab foreign policy of his party, and his groundbreaking speech in which he castigated anti-Israeli sentiments within the party may help to trigger a long-overdue discussion covering left-wing anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism. Gysi, whose father Klaus was Jewish and served as minister of culture and secretary of church affairs in East Germany, asserts that Israel's existence ought to be defined by the Left as part of Germany's "national interest." According to a recent poll, the Left party is supported by 12% of Germany's public.