Does Israel have a right to exist? Germany tightens tests for citizenship applicants

The new test questions are intended to prevent anti-Semitic persons from obtaining German citizenship. According to the Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeserová, topics such as anti-Semitism, the right of Israel to exist and the life of Jews in Germany will have a greater weight in the tests required for obtaining citizenship. This was reported by the DPA agency.

“Whoever does not share our values ​​cannot get a German passport,” said Interior Minister Faeserová on Tuesday in response to a question in response to Der Spiegel magazine’s findings. “Anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of contempt for humanity preclude the acquisition of citizenship. This will not be tolerated at all,” she added.

Among the questions available to Der Spiegel are, for example, questions about the name of a Jewish prayer house, when the State of Israel was founded, or how Holocaust denial is punished in Germany.

According to Faeser, Germany has a special responsibility for the protection of the Jews and for the protection of the State of Israel because of the Holocaust committed by it. “This responsibility is part of our identity today,” the minister said, adding that everyone who wants to obtain German citizenship must recognize this German responsibility.

The test serves as proof of knowledge of the legal and social order and living conditions in Germany.

Last year, the German government approved a significant facilitation of obtaining citizenship. It will be possible after five years of residence instead of the current eight, in good cases of integration, people will be able to get a German passport after only three years. At the time, Faeser said that the country needed a change so that, thanks to the clear prospect of life in Germany, it would be able to attract the experts that the economy desperately needs.

Germany is dealing with an increase in anti-Jewish incidents, among other things, in connection with the war in the Gaza Strip, which began last October 7 with a terrorist attack by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel.