German citizenship to be denied for posting “from the river to the sea”
The German government has passed a new citizenship law that could deny citizenship to anyone who posts “From the River to the Sea.” Anyone employed in the country are able to work towards citizenship after five years now as opposed to the eight that was previously required.
However, other requirements have been tightened including those related to “Racism, antisemitism or any other form of misanthropy rule out naturalization,” the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has revealed.
One such requirement concerns “Germany’s special historical responsibility for the National Socialist injustice and its consequences, especially for the protection of Jewish life.” This clause in the law states that anyone who contravenes the country’s legal commitment to the protection of Jews may be ineligible for citizenship.
It includes denial of the fact or extent of the Holocaust as well as accusing either Jews or the state of Israel of inventing or exaggerating the Nazi genocide. Statements including “From the River to the Sea,” among others are also included. Using maps which replace the territories of Israel with the colours of the flag of Palestine are also considered to be in contravention of the law.
This can all be considered to be grounds for denial of citizenship, the German government has revealed as it is considered incompatible with a commitment to the German constitution to violate Germany’s historical responsibility.
Liking, sharing, or commenting on such slogans on social media are also stipulated.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior said that when these slogans are uttered, the context in which they are said should be taken into consideration, adding that if the statement coincides with an explicit call for violence against Israel, it would be questioned in a citizenship interview.
The German citizenship test has also been updated to include questions about the Holocaust, Judaism, and Israel. “If you don’t share our values, you can’t get a German passport. We have drawn a crystal clear red line here,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told Der Spiegel.
