Individuals who post 'From the River to the Sea' to be denied German citizenship

Individuals who posted “From the River to the Sea” on social media will be denied German citizenship, according to stipulations in the new citizenship law, as cited by German channel NDR (North German Radio and Television) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior this week.

People who are employed in Germany can work to obtain citizenship after five years, compared to the eight years previously required in the law. While the law was passed on June 27 of this year, the requirements have been tightened, especially that “Racism, antisemitism, or any other form of misanthropy rule out naturalization,” according to the ministry.

One of the requirements for citizenship, clause 10.1.1.1.3.1, concerns “Germany’s special historical responsibility for the National Socialist injustice and its consequences, especially for the protection of Jewish life.”

This clause stipulated that an individual who contravenes Germany’s legal commitment to the protection of Jews may not be eligible for citizenship.

It included denial of the fact or extent of the genocide of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and accusing Jews or the State of Israel of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.

The above can be considered grounds for exclusion from citizenship, as, according to NDR, people are considered incompatible with a commitment to the German constitution if they violate Germany’s special historical responsibility towards Jewish life.

This stipulation includes liking, sharing, or commenting on such slogans on social networks.

'Incompatible with German law'

The ministry said that the context in which slogans are uttered should be taken into account. For example, if “statements such as ‘From the River to the Sea’ coincide with an explicit call for violent actions against the State of Israel,” this should be questioned in a citizenship interview.

While NDR stated that German states have autonomy over naturalization under their authority, a spokesperson explained to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (German Press Agency) that “the practice of recent years has shown, however, that the states are guided by the Federal Ministry of the Interior’s application instructions, so that the legal regulations on nationality law are applied uniformly.”

In March, it was reported that Germany’s citizenship test would now include questions on the Holocaust, Judaism, and Israel to filter out people with antisemitic views, according to a report by Der Spiegel.

“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 the German news outlet.

In August, a protester who chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” at a Berlin rally was fined €600 by a German court.