A landmark citizenship law will take effect in Germany on Thursday, June 27th, explicitly requiring applicants to recognise Israel’s right to exist, Financial Times reports on June 25th.
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When elected in 2021, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal government made dual nationality a key campaign promise, pledging to reduce the waiting period for new citizens to obtain a German passport to five years. Previously, the country did not permit dual citizenship for migrants of first-generation.
Olaf Scholz and Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo
However, increasing antisemitism, a heated debate over Israel’s war against Palestine, and a surge in support for anti-immigrant, far-right politics have led Berlin to redefine its citizenship reform as a stricter measure of commitment to German values.
Anyone who shares our values and makes an effort can now get a German passport more quickly and no longer has to give up part of their identity by giving up their old nationality.
But we have also made it just as clear: anyone who does not share our values cannot get a German passport. We have drawn a crystal-clear red line here and made the law much stricter than before.
– said interior minister of Germany Nancy Faeser on Tuesday, June 25th.
German lawmakers finalized the legal framework for new citizenship requirements in January 2024. The citizenship test, central to these changes, will be defined through government regulations. The Interior Ministry initially planned to include questions on Judaism and Jewish life in Germany, but has not confirmed whether it will include a specific declaration regarding the state of Israel.
On Tuesday, June 25th, the interior ministry officially confirmed that it would now be mandatory:
New test questions have been added on the topics of antisemitism, the right of the state of Israel to exist and Jewish life in Germany.
The citizenship test will now include commitments to gender equality, democracy, and Germany’s historical obligation towards Judaism in light of the crimes of National Socialism. Felix Klein, Germany’s official government commissioner for combating antisemitism, highlighted a “catastrophic” increase in hate crimes against Jews in Germany during his annual report presentation on Tuesday, June 25th.
Financial Times