Berlin coalition talks suspended over antisemitism deal concerns

BERLIN, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Germany's ‌Greens and ​centre-left ​Social Democrats (SPD) suspended exploratory talks on forming Berlin's next state government with the far-left Left Party ‌on Tuesday to assess whether antisemitism measures agreed ⁠to last week still stand.

• The proposed measures would allow lawmakers ‌accused of antisemitism to be ‌expelled if a panel came to a consensus on the matter. If they disagreed, experts would be called ​in.

• The decision comes after the Left admitted lawmaker Vanessa Emde, who has sparked controversy over her stance ⁠on Israel, as part of the state of Berlin's new parliamentary group.

• "We expect ​the Left to clarify the extent to which they intend to take the agreements we made ​seriously and implement them," the ‌two parties said in a joint statement after the Left held a constituent meeting.

• The ⁠Left, a hard-left party represented in Berlin by lead candidate Elif Eralp, emerged from the September 20 state election as the ⁠largest force, with 25.7% of the votes.

• Left leader Luigi Pantisano ​said he was confident that talks could continue, adding that all elected representatives had signed a declaration committing themselves to the fight against ‌antisemitism at their meeting on Tuesday.

• Tensions over antisemitism and the Israel-Gaza conflict have ‌become a major fault line in German politics, with the ⁠SPD and Greens insisting ‌on binding safeguards before ​entering exploratory coalition talks with the Left.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Nia Williams and Mark ‌Porter)

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