NEW YORK (JTA) — A far-right politician in Germany characterized Barack Obama’s election as "the American alliance of Jews and Negroes."
The American Jewish Committee’s office in Berlin condemned the remarks made by Juergen Gansel, a deputy from the National Democratic Party, in a statement titled "Africa conquers the White House." Deirdre Berger, the office’s director, said she was shocked by Gansel’s "open expression of racism, anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism."
The far-right National Democrats are not represented in the Parliament but do hold two seats in two states in eastern Germany. The party’s anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant platform has attracted a following among disaffected youth and the unemployed, according to Deutsche Welle news.
In his statement, Gansel also condemned Germans’ enthusiasm for Obama.
"Many people in the ‘diverse’ republic of Germany have been swept up in Obama fever, which resembles an African tropical disease," he said.
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