German
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance has said it will propose
beefed-up legislation to deal with antisemitism among migrant groups, which
would include the possibility of deportation.
The
draft legislation calls on the “absolute acceptance of Jewish life” to be
considered a “benchmark” for integration and stipulates that “those who refuse
Jewish life in Germany or question the right of existence of Israel, cannot
have a place in our country”
The
parties will propose the new rules by Holocaust memorial day on January 27,
according to Die Welt.
While
deportation orders will have to comply with rules set by the German parliament
in 2016, migrants found guilty of antisemitic hate speech would face
deportation under the new law.
Deputy
chairman of the CDU-CSU group in the German Bundestag Stephan Harbarth said:
“We must resolutely oppose the antisemitism of migrants with an Arab background
and from African countries.”
The
proposal comes in the wake of protests against the Israeli state in Berlin last
month, sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S.
embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The protestors burned Israeli flags and
chanted antisemitic slogans, prompting strong responses from officials in
Germany, where antisemitism remains a highly sensitive issue.
Germany’s
acting justice minister Heiko Maas reacted to the protests saying antisemitism
is an “attack on everyone” and can’t be “allowed to have a place [in society]
again.”
