Public opinion reflects new stance
The German Bundestag has approved a controversial resolution alleging to combat anti-Semitism, which has been actively opposed by civil society organizations, Jewish intellectuals, and legal experts.
Following months of closed-door negotiations, the resolution, first proposed following the October 7 attacks, ties public funds to adherence to projects that engage in the Bundestag’s definition of anti-Semitism.
The Bundestag issued a statement that seeks “to ensure that no organizations or projects that spread anti-Semitism, question Israel's right to exist, call for a boycott of Israel or actively support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement receive financial support."
This measure has created a sense of fear and censorship in German society. Cultural and academic institutions fear speaking out on human rights issues pertaining to Israel’s aggressions in the Middle East.
Germany’s history of anti-Semitism is certainly significant. The nation must ensure measures are in place to protect the lives and dignity of Jewish people.
In 2022, the Allensbach Institute conducted a survey on society’s attitudes towards Jewish people and found that anti-Semitism is “deeply rooted” in mainstream German society.
While the recent resolution focuses on the attitudes of Germany’s Muslim communities, primarily those with pro-Palestine sentiments, according to the Allensbach Institute, the far-right movement harbors the most anti-Semitic attitudes.
The study found that voters of Germany’s far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) are more likely to hold anti-Semitic views than any other political group.
The survey shows that Muslim communities are, in general, able to distinguish between a religion and a state’s political behavior. Yet the Bundestag does not make that distinction.
For the German parliament, critiques of Israel from individuals, institutions, and organizations are fundamentally anti-Semitic, a contested definition of anti-Semitism issued by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
The proposal has received support from Germany’s most prominent Jewish and Israeli organizations, such as the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the German-Israeli Society.
Amnesty International Germany stated that the resolution "not only fails to achieve this goal, but also raises fears of serious violations of fundamental human rights and legal uncertainty.”
The organization also argues that measures like these reinforce censorship and division, rather than actively addressing the conditions producing anti-Semitism in Germany and elsewhere.
The German Green Party argues that the resolution seeks to frame legitimate critiques of the Israeli government’s policies and actions as anti-Semitic, preventing discussions on violations of international law.
Germany’s Social Democrats echo the Green Party’s position, arguing that this measure is also a violation of German constitutional law.
In 2019, the Bundestag passed a non-binding resolution that described the BDS movement as anti-Semitic, yet its research service group found the content to be unconstitutional, echoed by several courts.
Yet the 2019 resolution both forms the base for the most recent measure and acts as a form of administrative guidance, as well as generates fear that results in self-censorship.
While the legislation tied to the 2019 resolution is unlikely to become enacted in law, it is used by law enforcement entities to employ repressive measures.
Debates regarding freedom of expression in Germany have been widespread, and this resolution further contributes toward those discussions.
In August 2024, 150 Jewish intellectuals living in Germany issued an open letter expressing their disagreement with the German government’s conflation between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism.
Signatories to the letter state that reinforcing the association between Jewish people as a whole and the Israeli government not only endangers the lives of Jewish people in Germany, but is also an anti-Semitic trope.
Signatories state that while mass efforts are being made to point to minorities in conflating Jewish people with the Israeli state, identifying Palestinians and their supporters as the groups responsible for anti-Semitism in the country is an act of dehumanization.
Simultaneously, there is little mention of the biggest historical and contemporary threat to Jewish life in Germany: German far-right movements.
In fact, some argue that creating ideological conditions tied to the allegiance toward the state’s beliefs as a condition to receiving its support and as a basis for punishment precisely feeds into far-right tactics.
In November 2024, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, co-director of ‘No Other Land,’ a film about Israel’s internationally recognized illegal occupation of the West Bank, was accused of anti-Semitism by the city of Berlin.
Abraham, a Jewish-Israeli and descendant of Holocaust survivors, stated that he will be taking legal action against the Germany's attempt to silence critique of Israel.
While anti-Semitism remains a pressing issue in German society, it has used the critique of Israel as a proxy for the issue, which has also criminalized Jewish communities and Israelis critical of the Israeli government’s policies.
Although the newest resolution is non-binding, it influences both criminal and immigration law and creates blanketed racism toward people from the Middle East and North Africa, all while failing to confront its domestic right-wing movement.
Sources: (DW) (Human Rights Watch) (Haaretz) (CNN) (Al Jazeera)
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Germany's controversial anti-Semitism resolution
Fears of violations of fundamental human rights
LIFESTYLE Human rights