To become a German citizen, it will be mandatory to declare loyalty to Israel’s democratic values and right to exist. This is the decision of Chancellor Olaf Scholz which comes after the victory of the far-right party Afd and in light of the daily clashes in the squares and universities over the war in the Middle East. With the recent 2021 law, Berlin shortened the time to obtain citizenship to five years, but made it necessary to take linguistic and cultural tests. Questions on anti-Semitism, Israel’s right to exist and Jewish life in Germany were added to the questions. The new German citizens will also have to have demonstrated their support for gender equality and democracy and will have to answer questions about the responsibilities and crimes of the Nazis against the Jewish people.
Social media also monitored
The German government has also tightened the rules for expulsions to the country of origin, foreseen for those who “support, salute and glorify” terrorist acts. The sanction also passes on social media, in fact, it will be enough, just one “like” on posts that praise terrorism, to be expelled from Germany.
The tightening of legislation
It is the German government’s response to the many episodes of violence in recent months, both those of anti-Semitism and those in which the Hamas massacre in Israel was praised.‘Islamist attack in Mannheim, where a policeman lost his life at the end of May was the decisive episode that pushed Chancellor Scholz to consider tightening the legislation. There would be a particularly significant interest of the German state in expulsion even when someone approves and praises crimes in a way that disturbs public peace: in this case, it would not be necessary to wait for a criminal conviction before proceeding with expulsion.
