The state of Saxony-Anhalt has said people who do not recognize Israel's right to exist cannot become naturalized citizens. The eastern state's interior minister said Germany's other 15 states should take similar steps.
Zieschang previously said her ministry had sent a decree to all Saxony-Anhalt municipalities informing them of the policy in late November.
The decree instructs authorities to pay close attention to whether an applicant exhibits antisemitic attitudes and states that “obtaining German citizenship requires a commitment to Israel’s right to exist.”
In a letter to local authorities, the Saxony-Anhalt state Interior Ministry said naturalization is to be denied to foreigners who engage in activities directed at Germany’s liberal democratic order as outlined in the country’s Basic Law.
Local authorities have been instructed to deny an applicant’s naturalization request if they refuse to sign the declaration.
Germany, which claims a special historical responsibility to protect Jews after the horrors of the Holocaust — in which Germany’s then Nazi government organized the industrial-scale murder of over 6 million European Jews during the Second World War — has called Israel’s security its own “Staatsräson,” or “reason of state,” as then Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaimed in an address to the Israeli parliament in 2008.
There has been considerable discussion in Germany regarding the issue of antisemitic attitudes among migrants who harbor resentment against Israel, with pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country becoming flashpoints for antisemitic behavior in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel.
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Zieschang previously said her ministry had sent a decree to all Saxony-Anhalt municipalities informing them of the policy in late November.
The decree instructs authorities to pay close attention to whether an applicant exhibits antisemitic attitudes and states that “obtaining German citizenship requires a commitment to Israel’s right to exist.”
In a letter to local authorities, the Saxony-Anhalt state Interior Ministry said naturalization is to be denied to foreigners who engage in activities directed at Germany’s liberal democratic order as outlined in the country’s Basic Law.
Local authorities have been instructed to deny an applicant’s naturalization request if they refuse to sign the declaration.
Germany, which claims a special historical responsibility to protect Jews after the horrors of the Holocaust — in which Germany’s then Nazi government organized the industrial-scale murder of over 6 million European Jews during the Second World War — has called Israel’s security its own “Staatsräson,” or “reason of state,” as then Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaimed in an address to the Israeli parliament in 2008.
There has been considerable discussion in Germany regarding the issue of antisemitic attitudes among migrants who harbor resentment against Israel, with pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country becoming flashpoints for antisemitic behavior in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel.
The original article contains 364 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 43%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!