The black-green state government of North Rhine-Westphalia aims to achieve, through a Bundesrat initiative, that the affirmation of Israel’s right to exist becomes a prerequisite for naturalization in Germany.
According to a decision by the state cabinet, NRW will submit a resolution proposal to the federal chamber as early as this week, said Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) in the state parliament in Düsseldorf on Wednesday.
Wüst: “Affirmation of Israel’s right to exist is part of being German”
The proposal will call on the federal government to promptly develop proposals to amend criminal and nationality law in coordination with the interior and justice ministers of the states.
Additionally, the NRW government is demanding a tightening of the criminal offense of incitement to hatred. Wüst also stated that denying the right of Israel’s existence should be criminalized in the future. “The affirmation of Israel’s right to exist is, for me, part of being German,” said the CDU politician.
“One can only become a German citizen by affirming Israel’s right to exist,” the head of government continued. Those who demand the obliteration of the state of Israel in speeches, demonstrations, or in instigating videos must face the full consequences of the rule of law. “Denying Israel’s right to exist is just as contemptible as denying the Holocaust,” Wüst said. “Therefore, it should be equally punishable by law.”
