Iran wanted to have Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, killed. Israelnetz asked Beck how this affected him and how he views the war against Iran.
Last week, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office filed charges against a suspected Iranian spy named Ali S. The Danish national of Afghan origin is alleged to have spied on a Jewish grocer and a kosher supermarket while working for the Revolutionary Guard. He also apparently planned attacks by acquiring a weapon and hiring a hitman. His targets: Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, Chairman of the German-Israeli Society. Israelnetz reached Beck by phone on Saturday. The questions were posed by Anna Lutz.
Mr. Beck, how are you?
Volker Beck: The planned assassination attempt against me was uncovered back in 2025, even though it only recently became public, and with some new details for me. At the time, it was truly dramatic. The security protocol was standard: an attack had to be expected at any time. That is, until the possible perpetrator, Ali S., was arrested. I felt well looked after and protected by the police. But whether the danger is really as far away now as the authorities claim, I don't know. I hope they're not mistaken.
Are you still in contact with the security authorities today?
There's still a security protocol in place, but a different one. I couldn't even go to the trash can without a police escort, and if I wanted to walk my dog, I could only do so with armored vehicles. That's really not necessary on a permanent basis.
Harsh debates, conflicts, and even hostility are nothing new to you. Throughout your political career, you have championed gay and lesbian rights, been active in religious policy as your party's spokesperson, and today you advocate for German-Israeli friendship. In which area were the hostilities most severe?
In 1991, when we began fighting for marriage equality, the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) visited me for the first time and told me I should no longer publicly disclose my home address. Since then, I've had a post office box. There have always been death threats, as well as verbal abuse.
But when it comes to Israel, I'm dealing with state-sponsored and supranational terrorist groups. Homophobia usually comes from ordinary thugs, not from organized groups that can hire hitmen. That's a different dimension of risk. Of course, there's also this kind of hooligan-like violence related to Israel. I see it every time I walk my dog through Neukölln. Every third person here wears a keffiyeh. Some of these people sometimes snap at me, but they're more in the category of "barking dogs don't bite." At least in my case. Unfortunately, Jews also frequently experience physical attacks on themselves and on synagogues.
Has your personal situation and the level of risk you faced in the past year changed your view on the internationally controversial war waged by Israel and the USA against Iran?
I've always had a different perspective on this than the majority. At the latest since my own trip to Iran in 2007 as part of a delegation, where I also spoke with the so-called reformers, I'm pretty disillusioned about the chances of negotiations with the regime there.
I've always been suspicious of the specific nuclear agreement. It was clear to me: the idea of an agreement is good, but the concrete text of the 2015 agreement allowed Iran to do whatever it wanted to strengthen itself economically, to finance its proxies like Hezbollah, Houthi, and Hamas, to increase its conventional armament to such an extent that any attack on the mullah regime would be too costly, to operate behind this umbrella and also bypassing the controls of the International Atomic Energy Agency with enrichment and other preparatory measures, and then one day to say: We have the bomb.
So war is a better solution?
The war didn't begin just now. Iran had started it long ago. The latest intense phase began on October 7th, because Hamas is a proxy, an ally of Iran. As is Hezbollah, which supported Hamas's attack with airstrikes in the north. That's why I say: We cannot attempt to describe and regulate the wars and asymmetrical power dynamics of the 21st century using 19th-century categories of international law.
How well Israel and the US were prepared for this war, and whether all the consequences were considered, I cannot judge. But on the level of political justification, I have always believed that the intervention was right. It's just that it came ten years too late. Because earlier, Iran could have been prevented from acquiring its weapons arsenals. Iran is an enemy of international peace, firstly because it wants to wipe Israel out – that must be taken seriously – and secondly because it wants to control or terrorize its neighbors.
Do you see any chance that the Revolutionary Guards can be ousted from power through this war?
I don't believe in warfare for regime change. That's not something you can control. You'd have to conquer the entire country on the ground, like Germany in 1945. But you have to consider this: Iran produces up to hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones a month. It has missile silos hidden beneath the rock formations in its mountains, which are virtually inaccessible to bunker-buster weapons. The longer Iran continues its military buildup, the sooner it will reach a point where it can no longer be prevented from developing an atomic bomb by conventional means. I think weakening Iran militarily is the right approach. More than that isn't certainly achievable, even though it would be desirable. But for regime change to occur, parts of the armed forces within Iran itself would have to rise up and stage a coup.
Do you have any hope that this will happen?
I always have hope, but in this case, no faith. If we follow Paul, faith is the certainty of what we hope for. But I lack that certainty.
Looking back now to 2025 and the planned assassination attempt against you: Where were the mistakes made that made it possible for something like this to be planned in the first place?
Nothing Iran has done on German soil has had any consequences. Take the 1992 Mykonos attack on a Greek restaurant in Berlin, planned by the mullahs. The victims were Iranian Kurds. Or the attack on the Bochum synagogue in November 2022. Any government that takes itself seriously would, after such incidents, at least reduce the embassy staff, if not expel the ambassador himself. This would ensure that no further threats could be generated from within the embassy.
Anything else?
We need to expand the powers of the intelligence services. The last significant, fundamental expansion was after September 11, 2001. Since then, nothing substantial or groundbreaking has happened; there have primarily been editorial amendments and technical adjustments to accommodate digitalization. The intelligence services must be freed from the constraints that are rightly imposed on police methods in a state governed by the rule of law.
To prevent things from spiraling out of control, qualified parliamentary oversight is essential. Intelligence agencies must be permitted, within the framework of the rule of law, to conduct covert investigations into potential terrorist activities and foreign operations anywhere, for example, on messaging services like Signal, or through online searches of the computers of individuals involved in vetted, suspicious, or monitored networks. My own case demonstrates just how necessary this is. Other intelligence agencies are already doing it. And I can only reiterate: if it weren't for Mossad, I would be dead now.
Have you heard anything from the German Federal Government regarding your case? Has the Chancellor contacted you yet?
Neither the Chancellor nor the Foreign Minister nor the spokespeople for these institutions have said anything about it so far, even though it has now become clear that the preparations for the assassination were more advanced than previously known. This outrages me.
This is about planned attacks on German citizens. Now that all of this has come to light, it's high time to communicate what the consequences will be. But no, nothing is happening. Therefore, we are open ground for these terrorist activities. This silence is an invitation to terrorists and their accomplices. Iran must finally be shown its red lines.
Mr. Beck, thank you very much for the interview!
(Israelnetz)
