German politician Aydan Özoğuz caused controversy with her posts on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), leading to her deleting one of them in response to backlash. In her original post, she had implied that Israel was partially responsible for being attacked by the Iranian regime, referencing an incident where Israel’s military had targeted a building of the Iranian consulate in Damascus. This aligns with Iran’s justification of self-defense, disregarding Iran’s history of hostility towards Israel. After deleting the post, Özoğuz attributed it to the escalating tensions and desire for an end to violence.
Özoğuz further sparked criticism by liking a post by Islam activist Tarek Baé, who has ties to Islamist circles and accused the President of the German-Israeli Society of promoting propaganda for Israel. When questioned about her support for Baé, Özoğuz stated she was unaware of the specific tweet and could not comment on it spontaneously. She also commented on the controversial reception of President Steinmeier in Turkey, where anti-Israel demonstrators protested against German support for Israel, including displaying unacceptable banners comparing Steinmeier to Hitler.
During an interview on Welt TV, Özoğuz reiterated her call for an end to violence and expressed concern for the situation in Gaza. She emphasized the need to break the cycle of violence and condemned the Hamas terror attack against Israel. Regarding the Turkish government’s support for Hamas, Özoğuz called for clear condemnation and urged President Steinmeier to push Turkey to take action to facilitate the release of Israeli hostages.
In response to questions about Steinmeier’s upcoming meeting with Turkish President Erdogan and the issue of Turkish financial support for Hamas, Özoğuz emphasized the need for continued denunciation of Hamas terrorism and German expectations for Turkey to contribute to resolving the conflict. She acknowledged the complexity of the situation but emphasized the importance of dialogue and potential for positive outcomes through diplomatic discussions. The discussions between Germany and Turkey during the visit focused on challenging Turkey to take meaningful steps towards improving the situation in the region.
