The federal state of Saxony-Anhalt announced that residents wishing to obtain German citizenship must sign a declaration declaring their belief that Israel has a right to exist, according to the German news agency DPA.
State Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU, in the state government of Saxony-Anhalt and in opposition at national level) issued a memorandum to authorities handling naturalization processes saying that everyone applying for citizenship must confirm , in writing, “that it recognizes the right to the existence of the State of Israel, and that it condemns any effort directed against the existence of the State of Israel.”
Legal experts say it is not clear whether there is a legal basis for this request, which could be based on the fact that support for Israel is a cause of statehood in Germany.
For several years, in Germany, as in other European countries, criticism of the State of Israel has been included under the umbrella of anti-Semitism. The authorities began to ban demonstrations in solidarity with the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attacks on October 7, and in some places they even used mufflerthe Palestinian scarf, to end up later declaring them.
For its part, the country’s Jewish community expressed fear after a series of houses where Jews live were marked with the Star of David.
But expressing positions critical of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip led to the cancellation of artists, even if they had also criticized the Hamas attack or were Jewish, as in the case of Candice Britz (whose canceled exhibition was deemed to have no connection to Israel or Gaza).
