New German citizens required to affirm Israel's right to exist

adONis@lemmy.world to World News@lemmy.world – 225 points –
New German citizens required to affirm Israel's right to exist
middleeasteye.net
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As of today they’re also expanding deportations. If you are caught using banned slogans on social media such as from the river to the sea and you’re a foreigner you will get deported for “praising terrorism”. Some politicians argue that even as much as a like will be enough for the authorities to throw you out of the country.

And if you have double citizenship and you got your German one as of this year, they will be able to cancel your citizenship if you’re ever convicted of questioning Israel’s right to exist.

Nope, not true. Stop spreading misinformation just because you want to get public praise.

You will not automatically get deported, but it will be made easier to deport foreigners who are praising terrorism. There’s a big difference. You always have legal recourse against this.

That’s important because the phrase “from the river to the sea” is not illegal praise of terrorism in Germany, even if you may have heard so from your equally misinformed bubble. While its use shows that the person saying has a big problem with accepting that a complex situation will certainly not be reflected in a catchy sentence, and that it may be time for that person to just excuse them from a discussion they are very likely not a part of, it is not illegal.

Why? Because courts will have to make the decision whether its use in a specific context was illegal, and more often than not it won’t be.

In Germany, you can't currently deport anyone just for expressing extremist views. However, recently there were demonstrations in Hamburg where about 1,000 people marched to advocate for a caliphate and Sharia law in Germany, which led to a public debate about exactly this. However, this isn't about Palestine but about anti-constitutional extremism. Some state interior ministers are now advocating to explicitly outlaw this kind of islamist extremism, potentially paving the way for easier deportations for those advocating for a caliphate in Germany. Here's a german article on the topic.

the phrase “from the river to the sea” is not illegal praise of terrorism in Germany, even if you may have heard so from your equally misinformed bubble

Oh yeah, my misinformed bubble, the official government press conferences: https://youtu.be/lBmDdNZmToU?si=rsLM5CyTSjEFxBTI&t=353

Or DW https://www.dw.com/en/german-cabinet-backs-deportations-for-praise-of-terrorism/a-69480819

I've seen people (including jews) getting fined for hate speech for an instagram story containing just "from the river to the sea palestine will be free" From now on, that will also come with a deportation.

The highly esteemed german courts will have the freedom to decide what fits into which context. A social media like will land you in court. Saying that hamas committed terrorist acts but also that it is a resistance movement spawned out of the oppression will also land you in a court because any nuanced discussion is too much for the german intellect and instantly means "pRaIsInG tErRoRiSm".

I can't wait to see all the neolibs that clapped when the greens and the social democrats passed these laws, when the AfD gets in power here (which will definitely happen sooner or later, following the EU wide far right movements) and when they decide to reinterpret those "contexts" their highly esteemed german courts like to discuss so much. I'm sure this draconian stuff won't backfire. But hell, who cares, it's only Ausländer getting the short end of the stick anyway.

So the blog post just states that the phrase isn't illegal to use but the state still decides to "investigate" its use often by using force, arrests, and by searching peoples' homes, confiscating their electronic devices and so on. It's good to hear that the "Verfassungsblog" argues that its use isn't generally illegal, but also states that the current police proceedings are going to great extent to intimidate people

You call them police proceedings, but it’s the public prosecutor’s office (Staatsanwaltschaft) that is calling the shots. Regardless, the article also states that two of the highest courts called the Verwaltungsgerichte have decided that the phrase isn’t illegal per se.

Of course it is illegal in the context of glorifying Hamas terrorism, as it should be. That also puts a responsibility on organisers of protests to make sure that they distance themselves from people who are ambiguous in their distancing from hamas, that’s a positive thing in my opinion.

You are very naive if you think that the German authorities would not bend or abuse such laws. If you’re a white German and as such not a victim of the systemic racism prevalent in the institutions of pretty much all European countries, you can’t understand this. Good for you but you’re incredibly privileged to an extent that you don’t seem to grasp based on your reply.

with your previous comment you went far afield, but you're not wrong either.

If they managed to push this thing through, they might as well force other laws onto people.

I’m not denying my privilege, but I’d argue that I’m more aware of my biases than you appear to be

Oh for the love of fuck would you get out of your bottomless victim pit?

CEAS: “Breaches of core legal principles are going to become the new normal”

Greek coastguard threw migrants overboard to their deaths, witnesses say

Hungary’s Migrant Abuse Is ‘Matter of Urgency,’ European Agency Finds

Canceling Palestine by Slavoj Žižek

Are your tinned tomatoes picked by slave labour?

Detention, Insecurity, Rights Deprivation – The Legal Crackdown on Asylum Seekers in Germany

The Serbian borders are heavily affected by pushbacks and police brutality

Here’s something for you to read. Took me literally a few minutes to put all of this together. There’s so much more. Most of Europe is slowly sliding into fascism and you somehow believe I am in a „victim pit“ by pointing that out? It always begins with the most vulnerable people. And then as a leftist suddenly you’re a „terrorist“ for criticizing the government and off you go.

Similarly in Scandinavia. Friends, who live in Sweden, told me about multiple people claiming how Sweden is turning more fascist, compared to previous years.

Eastern Europe doesn't represent Europe as a whole. Never has, never will.

No. The victim pit you're in is the perpetual victim role you've taken on as a personality.

Yeah so you didn’t read a single article. You didn’t even bother to read the headlines that I copy & pasted for you. How are Germany, Italy, Greece in Eastern Europe? more than half of the articles are about them.

Apart from that I don’t see how your ad hominem attacks are relevant or productive for having this conversation.

Well no. Your premise was anecdotal experience. Your articles are not relevant. Funny how you're annoyed at someone else's ad hominem, yet yours is totally valid? Ze victim complex runz deep.

Premise: European authorities will bend or abuse existing laws.

Articles from credible sources: provide evidence for European authorities bending or abusing or simply ignoring existing laws.

This posters conclusion: I don’t actually know. Anyway I’m just leaving this here for anyone unfortunate enough to follow this conversation until this point. No idea what else to do with trolls like this 🤷‍♂️

Are you that far removed from reality? Drop the "european" and it'll still be true. So what exactly is your point?