“Faeser and Scholz are taking a dangerous course”

WORLD “Faeser and Scholz are taking a dangerous course” Article by Hannah Bethke • 1 H. Juso deputy leader Sarah Mohamed considers the planned deportation offensive by Chancellor Scholz and Interior Minister Faeser to be populist and “racist”. The rampant hatred of Jews should not be dismissed as the sole problem of Muslims. Leftists also have to face their anti-Semitism problem. Juso vice-chairwoman Sarah Mohamed, 31, is running for the chairmanship of the SPD youth organization, which will be re-elected in November by Marlene Gawrisch WORLD: Ms. Mohamed, the Jusos have sharply criticized the announcement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) that deportations would be carried out more consistently. The party leadership, however, supports the Chancellor's course. Does the SPD no longer understand the young people in the party? Sarah Mohamed: I trust the party leadership to understand our criticism. But the SPD is giving in to the right-wing pressure that it feels in parts of society. There is currently a very heated, populist mood towards refugees in Germany. WORLD: From your point of view, does the SPD act in a populist manner? Mohamed: Scholz is at least following a very populist argument. This is not a social democratic position to be so harsh on the issue of refugees. Faster deportations do not help the municipalities at all. WORLD: Why not? Mohamed: There are very few refugees who are really obliged to leave the country and who are not tolerated. That's just about 0.1 percent of the population in Germany. That wouldn't change the overload of municipalities. WORLD: Municipalities have been warning for months that they could no longer accept refugees. The capacities are exhausted and the infrastructure is not sufficient. By the way, social democrats also say that. How do you plan to solve these problems? Mohamed: The municipalities must receive more financial support from the federal and state governments. The problem is much bigger and doesn't just have to do with refugees. I grew up in the Ruhr area. Municipalities there are simply completely exhausted and are on the verge of bankruptcy. It is no longer possible to regulate any services of general interest. You also have to talk about how to distribute the refugees. And the ban on employing refugees must be lifted. The aim must be to integrate them more quickly. WORLD: Since Hamas' attacks against Israel, anti-Semitic attacks and hostility from Muslims have been increasing in this country. Can you understand that the call for deportations is becoming louder against this background? Mohamed: No, I can't understand that. I don't want to downplay the fact that there is a problem with anti-Semitism in Muslim communities. But in this country in particular, we should not negate anti-Semitism in the population as a whole. Anti-Semitic resentment does not only exist among the right-wing, it affects the middle of society. For people with German citizenship, with or without a migration background, we must therefore talk about education and not about deportation. You cannot simply dismiss anti-Semitism as a problem of Muslims or refugees and shift responsibility. WELT: Do you share the criticism that this so-called imported anti-Semitism on the Muslim side has been taboo for too long in Germany? You can hardly address this topic without being accused of racism. Mohamed: I find the term imported anti-Semitism misleading. Anti-Semitism has a long tradition in Germany and therefore does not have to come “from outside”. Many migrants to whom this is attributed were born and raised here in Germany, they didn't just bring that with them from outside, it's also part of German society. WORLD: If you look at the scenes in Berlin-Neukölln these days, a different picture emerges: a Muslim community celebrating Hamas' attack against Israel, pro-Palestinian marches in which openly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel slogans are chanted. Has the integration of Muslim migrants in Germany failed? Mohamed: No. We have to start with the young people who are taking to the streets and ensure that, instead of engaging in propaganda and incitement, they find an approach to the conflict that is critical of anti-Semitism. We need to talk more about current forms of anti-Semitism. When I think about my own school days, anti-Semitism played no role at all in lessons beyond National Socialism. That needs to change. It must be clear to everyone that anti-Semitism is not just a thing of the past, but that it still exists today.