In a significant move to reshape its immigration policies, Germany is set to implement a new citizenship law on Thursday that explicitly requires applicants to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. This reform, spearheaded by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's socially liberal government, aims to streamline the naturalization process while simultaneously addressing growing concerns about antisemitism and far-right sentiment in the country.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser emphasized the dual nature of the new law, stating, "Anyone who shares our values and makes an effort can now get a German passport more quickly and no longer has to give up part of their identity by giving up their old nationality." However, she also underscored the stringent requirements, adding, "But we have also made it just as clear: anyone who does not share our values ​cannot get a German passport. We have drawn a crystal-clear red line here and made the law much stricter than before."

The reform, which allows dual citizenship for first-generation migrants and reduces the waiting time for naturalization to five years, comes amid a complex political landscape. Germany has witnessed a surge in antisemitic incidents, with Felix Klein, the government commissioner for fighting antisemitism, reporting an alarming 83% increase in hate crimes against Jewish people in 2023, totaling 4,782 incidents.

To address these concerns, the interior ministry has introduced new elements to the citizenship test. "New test questions have been added on the topics of antisemitism, the right of the state of Israel to exist, and Jewish life in Germany," a ministry spokesperson confirmed. The test will also assess applicants' commitment to gender equality, democracy, and Germany's historical responsibility towards Judaism in light of its Nazi past.

However, the government's approach has not been without controversy. Its handling of criticism towards Israel's actions in Gaza has sparked a heated debate on free speech, particularly among artists and academics. The resignation of Sabine Döring, junior minister for higher education, following her ministry's exploration of defunding researchers who criticized police actions against anti-Israeli protests, highlights the delicate balance the government is trying to strike.

The new citizenship law has also become a contentious issue for young Muslims in Germany, with officials expressing concern about potential radicalization due to perceived limitations on freedom of expression.

As Germany implements these changes, it faces the challenge of maintaining its commitment to inclusivity while addressing complex geopolitical and social issues. The success of this reform will likely depend on its ability to navigate these tensions and foster a sense of shared values among its increasingly diverse population.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17131215

Regarding Netanyahu’s mention in his interview about disarming the resistance and imposing civil administration on the Gaza Strip, these are mere delusions. Netanyahu is deeply mired in the Gaza quagmire and has achieved none of his aggressive goals except for murder and destruction.

His statements are intended for local consumption to try to prolong the war, which contradicts the position of the exhausted army, unable to continue this war or fight on multiple fronts due to the heavy losses it suffers in Gaza and the war of attrition from multiple fronts, especially the Lebanese front.

The Palestinian people and their courageous resistance will alone decide the future of the Gaza Strip, thwarting any attempt to impose civil administration or bring in foreign or Arab forces.

These statements in the interview indicate that Netanyahu is merely a psychologically ill and vile person acting as a sadistic criminal leading the dirtiest colonial entity in history with the most despicable, brutal and terrorist army.

Like other Zionist and U.S. war criminals, war criminal Netanyahu will not escape punishment. The day will come when they will all pay the price for every crime they committed against our people and other nations.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine appreciates the announcement by the Republic of Cuba to join the lawsuit filed by South Africa against the “israeli” occupation in the International Court of Justice.

They describe it as an important and courageous step that reaffirms Cuba’s historic, steadfast and supportive stance on the rights of the Palestinian people.

Cuba’s joining of this lawsuit represents a qualitative addition to the efforts seeking to prosecute the Zionist entity for the genocidal crimes it continues to commit in the Gaza Strip and to continue the pressure to stop this destructive war waged with U.S. and Western partnership.

The Front calls on all countries supporting the rights of the Palestinian people to emulate Cuba’s step and join international efforts aimed at condemning the occupation for committing genocide and prosecuting its leaders and all those involved with them from Western leaders in the International Criminal Court as a step towards delegitimizing this rogue Zionist entity.

A new poll conducted by Zionist media finds that, among settlers who previously lived in northern occupied Palestine, 28% of those surveyed said that they would never return, 46% said they would only return if there was a “clear solution.”

Nearly all of them stated that “the state has abandoned them.” Some settlers have taken it upon themselves to attempt to secede from the Zionist entity, while others formed a refugee camp.

Over 230,000 settlers have been displaced from the northern settlements for the last nine months as a result of the strikes of the resistance.

In Gaza, [neocolonialism] has failed to achieve any of its publicized goals, despite almost nine months of continuing genocidal attacks. Netanyahu’s war cabinet has crumbled in resignations. Escalating internal dissention and demonstrations of tens of thousands of people [under Zionism] are demanding negotiations. Finding housing, schools, jobs and subsidies for over 100,000 angry settlers driven out of stolen lands is creating a crisis in Zionist ideology and in the economy.

The head of the […] Occupation Forces Herzi Halevi said [that] the army is facing troop shortages amid rising casualties in the war against Hamas in Gaza. Enlisting more troops is difficult due to rising public opposition to the war.

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There is open conflict between Netanyahu, his defense minister and conflicting infighting among his gaggle of small reactionary political parties.

The U.S. military machine has overwhelming deadly capacity. Imperialist strategists flaunt their power in obscene ways. Military contractors sell their weapons in ways that increase their profits and ensnare countries in debt traps.

[Zionism’s neocolony], as a primary ally in U.S. regional domination of West Asia, has access and use of an endless supply, paid for by workers in the U.S. from the U.S. treasury.

Impoverished and developing countries, determined to assert their sovereignty and escape a colonial death grip, are using science and applying their limited locally available resources to engineer weapons and strategies of self-defense that can prevent the destructive U.S. mega-weapons from determining the outcome.

The Zionist movement and its U.S. [neo]imperialist backers face a strategic dilemma — in order to avoid a very destructive wider war, for which they are not prepared and cannot win, they need to end the current genocidal war on Gaza. Ending the war without defeating the resistance would be a huge setback for the Zionist movement and an even larger humiliation for its protector and co-conspirator — U.S. [neo]imperialism. It will be a huge advance on a world scale.

Saudi Arabia condemned on Saturday Israel’s Security Cabinet decision to expand illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, warning of “dire consequences,” according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry

In a related context, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit also condemned the same Israeli decision in a statement, describing it as a “complete and final reversal of the Oslo Accords, a return to square one, and an entrenchment of the blatant occupation logic.”

Aboul Gheit called on “the international community to see the Israeli government for what it truly is: a racist, right-wing government uninterested in peace, seeking to dismantle any semblance of Palestinian authority, including in Area B, which under the Oslo Accords, is under Palestinian civilian control.”

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Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have postponed a decision on whether arrest warrants should be issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The delay came after the ICC allowed the UK to submit legal arguments against the jurisdiction over the issue.

According to court documents made public on Thursday, the UK filed a request with the ICC on June 10 to provide written observations on whether “the court can exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, in circumstances where Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals (under) the Oslo Accords.”

[...]

The UK’s argument is that the Palestinian authorities cannot have jurisdiction over Israeli nationals under the terms of the Oslo Accords, and so it cannot transfer that jurisdiction over to the ICC to prosecute Israelis.

“The United Kingdom submits that the Chamber, pursuant to Article 19(1) of the Rome Statute, ‘is required to make an initial determination of jurisdiction in resolving the application for arrest warrants’ of which ‘[t]he Oslo Accords issue necessarily forms part,’” the ICC said on Thursday.

The judges added that the court would also accept submissions from other interested parties on the legal issue until July 12.

According to media reports, granting the UK’s request could delay for months the decision on arrest warrants for Israeli officials, which ICC prosecutor Karim Khan requested in May.

The US military’s floating pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip was dismantled due to the expected “high sea states”, the Pentagon said on Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Now, due to high sea states expected this weekend, Central Command has removed the temporary pier from its anchored position in Gaza and will tow it back to Ashdod, Israel,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary, Sabrina Singh, told reporters.

Temporarily relocating the pier will prevent potential structural damage that could be caused by the heightened sea state, Singh said.

The Commander will continue to assess the sea states over the weekend, she said, adding: “But I don’t have a date of when the pier would be reinstalled.”

More than 8,831 metric tons, or approximately 19.4 million pounds, of humanitarian aid was delivered since the pier became operational on 17 May, Singh said, calling it a “great success”.

US President, Joe Biden, ordered the establishment of a sea route to deliver food and aid to Palestinians on 8 March, amid Israeli restrictions and months of conflict in the enclave.

The Gaza Strip and innocent civilians have turned into an open testing ground for various internationally banned U.S. weapons. The world’s silence in the face of these atrocities is suspicious and reveals the fall of the masks of the so-called free world and those who cry over human rights. The detainees from the Gaza Strip, as revealed by the released prisoners, experience horrific levels of torture, mutilation and other brutal methods.

We urgently call on the free people of the world to expand the global Intifada against the Zionist war of genocide on the Strip and against all Western entities involved in these crimes, especially the U.S., Britain and Germany. It has become clear that there is a Western green light for the occupation to destroy all aspects of life and infrastructure and launch a starvation war on the Strip in light of the failure of military objectives.

We call on Arab countries to activate their decisions to impose breaking the siege and bring relief materials and essential supplies to the Strip without any conditions or decisions from the occupation. Any shortcomings or delays will lead to the continuation and worsening of this disaster.

Despite all these atrocities, Gaza will remain steadfast, a graveyard for the Zionists and their henchmen, and will continue to fight for its existence and life. We are confident that it will triumph in this global Zionist-Western war against it.

Norway’s largest pension fund has announced that it will no longer invest in US industrial group Caterpillar, citing concerns that the company’s equipment is used by Israel in its genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Oslo-based KLP made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the decision to divest from Caterpillar was made due to the risk that the manufacturer's bulldozers and other heavy machinery may be contributing to human rights violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Kiran Aziz, the firm’s asset manager, said KLP sold shares and bonds worth 728 million kronor ($69 million) earlier this month prior to the decision to divest its stake.

Hezbollah responded to the message by informing the US that it was prepared for a fight with Israel.

Blinken met with Gallant and promised that the US would aid Israel’s military.

Gallant, for his part, used the meeting with Austin to focus on Iran. “The greatest threat to the future of the world and the future of our region is Iran, and time is running out,” he stated. “Now is the time to realize the commitment of the American administrations over the years to promise to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon.”

Israel is getting close to phase 2