Mekan Kolasinac, the Chairman of the German Left Party in the City of Saarlouis, has called an MP from his own party a “sneaky Jew” on Facebook.

Kolasinac called the head of the federal party, Bernd Riexinger, a “sneaky Jew”. Describing Jews with pejoratives such as “sneaky” ties in with long-standing antisemitic canards; antisemites often accuse Jews of being duplicitous and manipulative, pulling the strings behind events. Kolasinac’s comment is not just an off-hand insult, but an expression of an insidious form of antisemitism.

Kolasinac admitted making the comment, but said that he regretted having done so, addressing his “Jewish friends” in the statement.

The Left Party is a populist left wing party that often takes an anti-Israel stance. In 2010, neo-Nazis praised members of the party, including MPs, who refused to stand for Shimon Peres. At least one MP from the Left Party, Christine Buchhloz, has supported terrorist organisations Hamas and Hezbollah as organs of “legitimate resistance”.