Investigations by the newspaper Welt am Sonntag reveal that millions of euros in public funds have been allocated to organizations participating in an initiative by Germany’s Ministry for Family Affairs to promote social cohesion. Some of these organizations have made openly antisemitic statements or maintain ties to extremist environments.
One of the most striking cases is that of the group Teilseiend, based in Heidelberg. Its founder, Isa Koray Panz, went so far as to describe “Jewish Zionists” as “a disease” and rhetorically asked on social media whether Germany was becoming “a Jewish state,” accompanying his words with images of the Hanukkah menorah in front of the Brandenburg Gate. On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Panz described the German Chancellor’s statement as “disgusting.” Despite these expressions, the Teilseiend project received, up to the end of 2024, part of a €2.8 million grant as part of the CLAIM alliance against Islamophobia, which continues to receive public funding in 2025.
Another organization under scrutiny is BIWOC Rising, which received €800,000 for a coworking space aimed at migrant women. Its director, Loubna Messaoudi, celebrated the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th as “resistance against colonialism” and compared a police operation in Germany to practices of the Nazi regime. Members of her advisory board deny Israel’s right to exist and refer to Israeli settlers using dehumanizing language.
The problem is not limited to fringe initiatives. Institutions dedicated to “extremism prevention,” such as the Islamic Institute of Science and Education (IWB)—linked to the Milli Görüs network, which is under surveillance by the German intelligence service—have received over €1.2 million since 2020. Its founder has declared himself a friend of Salafist preacher Marcel Krass, and members of the institute have taken part in events organized by radical Islamist associations.
The controversy has forced a reaction from the Federal Commissioner for Antisemitism, Felix Klein, and from the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, who is demanding an urgent review of the program. From the CDU, MP Alexander Throm calls for a full audit of the subsidized NGOs: “Not a single euro more should go to anyone who does not share constitutional values,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Ministry for Family Affairs—now led by Karin Prien (CDU)—assures that explanations have been requested from the organizations involved and emphasizes that “no extremist entity should receive public funds.” Nevertheless, voices from the Greens and the Left are downplaying the scandal, calling the criticism a “right-wing campaign.”
