German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann expressed his understanding and belief that the decision of the state of Saxony-Anhalt that Israel’s right to exist must be recognized as a condition for obtaining German citizenship is a logical and understandable decision.
Bushman considered that requiring the applicant to obtain German citizenship to do so is “a result of the free democratic basic system.” He said, attributing the specificity of his country’s relationship with Israel to what he described as “Germany’s responsibility for the unjust Nazi rule and the Holocaust.”
It is noteworthy that Bushman belongs to the Free Democratic Party, whose basic principles are to provide and guarantee the personal freedom of the citizen.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli ambassador in Berlin expressed his support for the German state of Saxony setting recognition of Israel’s right to exist as a basic condition for obtaining German citizenship.
Last November, the Minister of the Interior of the state of Saxony-Anhalt issued a decree requiring people wishing to obtain German citizenship to submit recognition of Israel’s right to exist, and that citizenship could only be obtained by acknowledging the paragraph related to Israel.
The paragraph states: “I explicitly acknowledge the special German responsibility towards the State of Israel and Israel’s right to exist, and I condemn any anti-Semitic efforts. I do not pursue efforts directed against the State of Israel’s right to exist, nor have I pursued such efforts.”
Minister Bushman pointed out that the new naturalization law that the ruling coalition intends to introduce includes a regulation stipulating that conviction for a crime with a racist or anti-Semitic motive would prevent naturalization in the first place.
“Disappointment”
The German minister’s statements coincided with the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Joseph Schuster, expressing his disappointment about the way Muslims in German mosques dealt with what he called “terrorist attacks” that occurred on Israel.
Schuster criticized the Friday preachers’ failure to condemn the Hamas movement or their talk about Israel’s right to exist, he said, noting that the Jews feel “a great deal of disappointment.”
It is noteworthy that the Israeli ambassador had described Germany as Israel’s best ally in Europe and that it has become Israel’s second strategic partner after the United States, after its unconditional and absolute support for his country since October 7, 2023.
The German authorities tried to prevent pro-Palestinian demonstrations after the Israeli aggression on Gaza, under the pretext of combating anti-Semitism. The authorities banned the organization of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the country, and prevented students in the capital, Berlin, from carrying Palestinian keffiyehs and posters with Palestinian flags on them.
The state of Bavaria also banned the slogan From the River to the Sea used in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, claiming that it is an anti-Semitic slogan.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz was the first foreign prime minister to visit Israel after the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood.