Germany, revoking citizenship due to anti-Semitism?

2025-03-31 08:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

CDU/CSU and SPD plans: "Supporters of terrorism, anti-Semites and extremists" could have their German passports revoked if they have a second citizenship. Critics see unequal treatment.

During the coalition negotiations between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, there were reportedly repeated heated debates, sometimes even leading to door-to-door clashes, as reported by participants in the negotiations. Especially in the working group dealing with migration and integration issues, the negotiating partners' positions were apparently very far apart. But now there is a consultation document from both sides that is intended to serve as a draft for the coalition agreement of the new federal government in Germany and that is available to DW. Under the heading "Nationality law" it says: "We adhere to the reform of the nationality law." And then it continues:

"We will consider constitutionally whether we can strip German citizenship from supporters of terror, anti-Semites and extremists who call for the overthrow of the basic free-democratic order if they have another citizenship."

Shortly afterwards, SPD politician Dirk Wiese, himself part of the "Home Affairs, Law, Migration and Integration" working group, tried to sell it as a success for his party, when he told DW that the SPD had ensured that the possibility of dual citizenship would remain, while the CDU/CSU wanted to abolish it. "We still have the option to get citizenship after five years. If you manage to integrate here very quickly, you can learn the language after three years."

Germany, revoking citizenship due to anti-Semitism?

The Union's broader proposal to strip dual citizens of their German passports for certain legal violations recently met with resistance from the SPD. It appears that it could not win on this point. Some Social Democrats fear unequal treatment: would obtaining citizenship ultimately be just a kind of probationary period? Another question: Is a German with a second passport not so German after all?

Germans on trial?

This is exactly what SPD politicians, such as Bremen Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte, warned about when this passage appeared in the consultation document before the working group negotiations began. The message to the five million people living in Germany with two passports would be "a really big problem," Bovenschulte told Der Spiegel magazine. They would be given the impression that their citizenship is worth less and that they don't really belong to the country.

Abdel, who actually has a different name, has this feeling. He is German, born in Berlin. And Palestinian, his grandmother was born in East Jerusalem. In addition to German, Abdel also has Jordanian citizenship. "The situation is very tense. It could become problematic for people like me." He does not want to see his real name published in an article.

Left-wing Bundestag member Clara Bünger speaks of a "two-class citizenship law". "Who is part of it and who is not? That is exactly what is not needed in a migration society. It needs very clear rules and legal certainty for everyone, as well as equal rights for all people in Germany."

From "terrorist" to "terror supporter"

The Basic Law, the German constitution, actually stipulates that the state cannot revoke German citizenship. But there are exceptions: For example, anyone who joins a group like IS, which is classified as a terrorist organization in Germany, can have their German passport revoked under current law - but only if the person has a second passport. The CDU/CSU coalition has been campaigning for this regulation to be tightened. At the beginning of January, chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz announced that he would revoke the citizenship of "people who are convicted" of holding dual passports. A little later, Markus Söder wrote in X: "Anyone who calls for a caliphate should have their dual citizenship revoked!"

Germany, revoking citizenship due to anti-Semitism?

The current draft clearly bears the Union's signature, where in the future, it will be enough to identify yourself as a "supporter of terrorism" or "anti-Semite" in order to have your German passport revoked. But how are these terms defined?

Anti-Semitism is not a criminal offense in itself in Germany. For this to be a crime, the criterion of inciting public hatred must be met - and this applies to many anti-Semitic statements, including Holocaust denial.

In addition to criminal prosecution, there may now also be the risk of having your citizenship revoked, which only applies to dual citizens. Critics see this as a disadvantage compared to people who, for example, make anti-Semitic comments and only have a German passport. "This is about excluding certain groups, people from Arab or Muslim countries," says Elad Lapidot. He is a professor of Jewish studies at the University of Lille.

Protest against CDU's cooperation with AfD, protesters hold banners with chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz Who is "anti-Semite"?

Germany, revoking citizenship due to anti-Semitism?

Lapidot views the plans of the likely future federal government with concern. This is also because the Bundestag recently stated in a resolution that it would use the so-called IHRA definition, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, as a reference point for anti-Semitism. It cites eleven examples of anti-Semitism, most of which are related to Israel. For example, it is anti-Semitic to deny the Jewish people the right to self-determination, for example by describing Israel as a "racist enterprise." This is one of the examples that leaves room for wide interpretation.

IHRA supporters argue that accusing the state of Israel of apartheid is anti-Semitic - also because it portrays Israel as a "racist enterprise". Even the slogan "From the river to the sea" - from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea (today's Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank) - denies Israel's right to exist or, in the words of the IHRA, "the right of the Jewish people to self-determination". The Ministry of Interior has added it to the list of prohibited symbols as "identifiers of Hamas". However, courts have repeatedly ruled that the slogan is not at all clear. It can also be interpreted - especially with the addition "From the river to the sea - we demand equality" - as a demand for equal rights for all people in the area.

Even critics of the IHRA definition, scholars like Lapidot, have been partly labeled as “anti-Semitic.” “You don’t necessarily have to share this criticism, but its formulation and expression is essential for a democracy,” says Lapidot, co-founder of the Association of Palestinian and Jewish Academics.

The revocation of German citizenship under the Nazi regime

Lapidot is personally concerned. He holds both German and Israeli passports. Part of his family comes from Hamburg. In 1934, the family was able to flee to what was then the British Mandate of Palestine. Like many German Jews who fled the Nazis in exile, they were stripped of their German citizenship by Nazi legislation once they were living abroad. “There was a time when Germany created second-class citizens,” Lapidot recalls. “They were stripped of their citizenship.”

In the Federal Republic, as a sign of reparation for this injustice, the Basic Law (German Constitution) enshrined the resumption of citizenship for "those persecuted by the Nazi regime who were denied German citizenship for political, racial or religious reasons". This also affects their descendants. Elad Lapidot, who grew up in Israel, received German citizenship.

The influence of right-wing populism?

The huge popularity of the AfD, which is considered a partly extreme right-wing party, worries the researcher. "At a time when policies and visions advocated by the fascists and Nazis in the 1930s are being revived, to present anti-Semitism as imported from Arabs, from Palestinians, from Muslims," ??according to Lapidot, is "cynical and extremely disturbing." Anti-Semitism became a "genocidal ideology" in Germany, Lapidot emphasizes, and has never disappeared from German society. Until today.

Left-wing politician Bünger is convinced: "The consultation document clearly bears the AfD's signature. Pressure from the right made this tougher content possible in the first place."

Abdel, who regularly participates in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, is considering voluntarily giving up his Jordanian passport. The young man, a Berliner, definitely does not want to lose his German passport. "I know I am not an anti-Semite," he says. "Revoking my citizenship would be nothing more than a means to suppress free speech."

The last word on constitutional verification has not yet been said.

Who will ultimately decide whether a person is an "anti-Semite" or not, and whether they could potentially have their dual citizenship revoked, is not yet known. The draft consultation document of the negotiating parties to the government says that it concerns "supporters of terror, anti-Semites and extremists who call for the abolition of the basic free-democratic order."

However, before the courts can check whether the charge of "supporting terrorism, anti-Semitism or extremism" applies to specific people, the paragraph in the coalition document must be subject to constitutional scrutiny.

The SPD seems to be hoping that the text will not withstand legal scrutiny. Dirk Wiese, part of the SPD negotiating team, is calm: "I personally have a clear legal opinion on what will come out of such a review." But those who could be affected by this regulation are not calm./ DW