BERLIN (AP) — Jewish members of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, have met in the southwestern German city of Wiesbaden to create a Jewish section within the party — a move that drew strong condemnation from other Jews.

Media reported that 19 people joined the new "Jews in the AfD" group Sunday.

Seventeen Jewish organizations put out a joint statement this week saying, "the AfD is a party in which anti-Semitism ... and the denial of the Shoah have a home." They called the party a threat to Jewish life in Germany.

Last year, a prominent AfD member said Germany needs to perform a "180-degree turn" when it comes to remembering its past and said the Berlin memorial to the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust is a "monument of shame."