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Brandenburg Enforces Israel-Existence Pledge for Citizenship as Landtag Debates Further Protections

The policy, rolled out since June, requires citizenship applicants to affirm Israel’s right to exist; it has reignited debates over Jewish security measures, leaving the question of listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard unresolved.

Overview

  • Since June 1, Brandenburg requires naturalization applicants to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist alongside existing pledges to Germany’s constitution, historical responsibility, self-sufficiency.
  • Interior Minister René Wilke introduced the change in consultation with Ministerpräsident Dietmar Woidke, clarifying it does not require endorsement of every decision by an Israeli government.
  • On July 17, the Landtag rejected a CDU proposal to strengthen security for Jewish institutions, opting not to advocate classifying Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.
  • Brandenburg’s antisemitism commissioner Andreas Büttner warned that antisemitism has reached record levels, expressing solidarity with Israel, voicing concern for civilian suffering in Gaza.
  • The policy, following Sachsen-Anhalt’s 2023 precedent, forms part of wider debates on migration, Holocaust remembrance, responses to the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict.