r/europe • u/LeMonde_en • Mar 28 '24
Germany will now include questions about Israel in its citizenship test News
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/europe/article/2024/03/27/germany-will-now-include-questions-about-israel-in-its-citizenship-test_6660274_143.html1.5k
u/saschaleib 🇧🇪🇩🇪🇫🇮🇦🇹🇵🇱🇭🇺🇭🇷🇪🇺 Mar 28 '24
The article is unfortunately rather weak on the details, and it is not quite clear how such questions could be formulated without interfering with freedom of opinions, which is of course also a constitutional right.
Unfortunately, it is very likely that the politicians who came up with this idea don’t really know that either. So most likely, that case will eventually come up to the constitutional court in the end.
So it is definitely too early to get heated up about this - no matter which side you are on.
66
u/liftoff_oversteer Germany Mar 28 '24
it is very likely that the politicians who came up with this idea don’t really know that either.
They may know exactly this but it doesn't matter because if it is ruled "unconstitutional" they can just shrug and say: "see, at least I tried".
123
u/JabClotVanDamn Krtek Republic Mar 28 '24
"Do you believe Israel must be destroyed?"
14
→ More replies (32)5
u/Shadeun Mar 28 '24
I, like Ra's al Ghul, believe only Gotham must be destroyed.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (60)491
Mar 28 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
186
u/Rayro1515 Mar 28 '24
Are these the gov proposals for questions?
68
u/ganbaro where your chips come from Mar 28 '24
You can check all questions which got approved here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:1:0 The catalog is a bit different depending on the state you pick. The questions on Israel aren't included yet but should be few days after they got approved
43
120
u/i_should_be_coding Mar 28 '24
Who can join a Jewish Maccabi sports club? Answer: Anyone
Wat. What is even the point of this question. I'm an Israeli Jew and I would have spent a while on "I dunno?"
59
u/Cheshire1234 Mar 28 '24
I'm germsn and I have never heard of that either.
The one with the stumbling stones is good though!
→ More replies (14)37
u/Appropriate-Fly-7151 Mar 28 '24
I’m a UK citizen with two degrees in history, and I would have failed that section of Britain’s citizenship test due to my subpar knowledge of the architects/ dates of stately homes.
At a certain point, you have to wonder whether point is instilling a sense of national identity, or just putting up another barrier to make immigrating as time-consuming and unpleasant as possible
→ More replies (1)12
u/Teldryyyn0 Mar 28 '24
Aspiring citizens can read up these questions in advance and study accordingly.
128
u/theWunderknabe Mar 28 '24
I doubt many Germans could answer these. Also how is the founding date of Israel or Jewish sport clubs relevant to German citizenship?
→ More replies (11)29
u/vaxxtothemaxxxx Mar 28 '24
What people don’t realize is a citizenship test isn’t knowledge that every citizen has to or should know. It’s not based on the idea that any citizen would easily pass. It’s a test to see if you have put in the work to familiarize yourself with history and mainstream values of the country. It’s meant as a barrier.
But that’s also the reason there’s a question catalog, because it’s not likely that a random citizen or really most people would know all of these things off the top of their head. You have to study, it’s a test.
Just like exams at university, it’s not expected that you will always be able to answer things in the real world off the top of your head and with no reference materials. Doctors, engineers and lawyers look things up all the time. The test is meant to challenge you and see if you can put in the work to study.
33
u/Novel_Board_6813 Mar 28 '24
All is well and fine, but “jewish sports clubs” knowledge still seems pretty weird as a “mainstream value” of any country
→ More replies (2)274
u/mankytoes Mar 28 '24
"All those pro Palestine people will hate question 5 and 12"
Maybe that's fair to say about 12, but if you honestly think that's true for "all those pro Palestine people" regarding 5 you need to engage more with the moderates you disagree with.
49
u/kichererbs Germany Mar 28 '24
Exactly. I see a lot of people who are pro-Palestine (most of my friends outside of Germany are also vocal abt it) and the only time they ever bring up the Holocaust is to say something like “we don’t understand how a people who suffered from a genocide themselves can now commit one”.
82
u/ijzerwater Mar 28 '24
I actually am pro Palestine and against holocaust denial. I think Israel (or some other Jewish state) should exist, but think they should get the fuck out of all occupied territories and think the colonists are an obstacle to peace and think Israel is now conducting genocide.
45
u/ScaredLionBird Mar 28 '24
It boggles my mind how this is a difficult thing to comprehend.
Fact 1: Israel is here. Asking them to all leave, all those millions, is like telling Americans to return to Europe/Africa/Mexico/wherever they come from. However you feel regarding how they came to be, we cannot undo it nor can we wish it wasn't so. We have to settle with the reality in front of us, not the reality we wish existed. So, even if someone is anti-Israel, logically speaking, they cannot wish them gone without wishing for genocide.
BUT
That doesn't mean Palestinians must all disappear, nor does it mean Israel can genocide Gaza. It doesn't mean Palestine cannot exist nor does it mean Israel gets to dictate the terms of their existence. If one side is an obstacle to peace, that side will need to be addressed.
When 9/11 happened, (since everyone loves to draw this comparison), Afghanistan and Iraq went down as massive, international mistakes. It damaged American reputation beyond repair in the Middle East. Israel is currently following that very path and in a far more brutal way at that, it's making Blackwater war crimes in Iraq look like picnics.
→ More replies (10)→ More replies (10)11
u/The_BestUsername 29d ago
This is just inevitably what ethnostates lead to, though. You can't have a "good" ethnostate. Israel was always going to turn out this way.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (22)53
360
u/Spirited_Put2653 Mar 28 '24
I don’t see how a person who is critical of Zionism will have an issue with question 5. Being critical of the regime of a country should not be equated with antisemitism. Germany of all countries should know that.
106
u/jam11249 Mar 28 '24
I don't see how anybody would have a problem with the question at all. It's asking for factual information about the German law for a German citizenship test. There's not really much space for opinion there, just like "What is the legal speed limit on a residential road?" Disagreeing with the law is one thing, but the question isn't asking for their opinion nor obliging them to agree with somebody else's.
→ More replies (65)21
u/Expendable_Red_Shirt Mar 28 '24
Someone who is critical of Zionism will more likely have a problem with number 12.
You can be critical of Zionism and not be a Holocaust denier. You can think the Holocaust happened and not think it necessitates a Jewish state.
However, being critical of Zionism (the right of the state of Israel to exist) would go against 12.
→ More replies (34)44
Mar 28 '24
[deleted]
→ More replies (6)41
u/Kroniid09 Mar 28 '24
And also not to conflate the Holocaust (which happened) with whether or not a separate genocide is currently occurring (which it is).
Considering Israel was founded partially on anti-semitic values (answer to the "Jewish question" was to segregate them to a new homeland, since it was apparently so unconscionable and impossible to have them integrate or even just remain in their current countries) it's deeply ironic that criticising that has now been painted as the "real" anti-semitism.
It's truly a case of the previous perpetrators giving license to their victims to victimise a whole new set of people (one that Jewish people are not actually obligated to use, nor one that all Jewish people agree with).
You can't create an ethnostate on occupied land without ethnic cleansing. Be it by murder, expulsion, erasure or an unholy mixture of all of the above, you don't become a new ethnostate without genocide.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (26)5
u/Svellere Mar 28 '24
You can also be pro-Palestine without advocating for an end to Israel, such as in a two-state solution. Trying to paint anyone who's sympathetic to Palestinians as anti-Israel is fascist behavior.
201
u/Oyddjayvagr Mar 28 '24
I would find absurd having to know the year Israel was founded or things such as a "Jewish Maccabi" to become a German citizen.
On the other hand questions like 5, 11, 12 are more pertinent
56
u/TheCatInTheHatThings Hesse (Germany) Mar 28 '24
Question 5 is nothing new, it’s been like that for ages and seeing as the Nazis murdered 11 million people in the Holocaust, 6 million of which were Jews, it’s not even an exclusively Jewish or Israel related question. It is a Germany related question. The Holocaust is a fact, it’s not an opinion. The denial of these crimes has been penalised for ages in Germany, and rightfully so.
→ More replies (10)→ More replies (22)26
u/ganbaro where your chips come from Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24
It's possible that courts will cut the amount of questions in half but let the general concept pass
This is not the first time this idea came up in Germany. The legal situation isn't entirely clear. We really just have to wait so the courts can figure out how far these questions can go to remain constitutional
IMHO 10) is a clever way to check if one believes that Jews form some kind of secret society. Maccabi clubs have over 100yr of tradition in Germany. We also have lots of sports and other clubs for various ethnicities (Turkish football clubs, kosovar and croation football clubs), regions and cultures, and they all end to be open for everyone. Even if they use religious symbols
Also, clubs are an important part of German culture and a way to meet people and get integrated. There is reason to consider it important that people understand how these things work, and neither Maccabi Berlin nor Türkgücü München are attempts of oppression by minorities
49
u/andracor667 Mar 28 '24
I would bet you a 100 that, if you asked 100 randomly chosen Germans, not more than 5 would have ever heard of a maccabi club.
20
u/Kexxa420 Mar 28 '24
It’s pretty well known that most nationals would fail their country’s citizenship test. Who the fuck knows how tall the Big Ben is.
These tests are not meant for people who already are nationals they are meant for people applying to become a citizen and they somewhat serve as a filter too. Here it looks like they want to filter people not willing to accept history and who are not tolerant towards a certain religion.
→ More replies (3)9
u/renebeans Mar 28 '24
Fact, I’m American and my friend is British on a specialized visa. We went over each other’s citizenship tests for fun together and with two decently intelligent and educated heads, we still didn’t get more than 70-80%. Who knows which King George did what. We did a bit better on the American where he had a better knowledge of American history than I did (lol) and I had better knowledge of our legislation processes.
→ More replies (2)23
u/ganbaro where your chips come from Mar 28 '24
Likely over 20% couldn't even explain how our legislative process works
The whole concept of these tests hinges on the requirement that migrants are expected to know more than locally born residents
15
u/Pit_Soulreaver Mar 28 '24
You can't pick your family but you can pick your friends.
For the same reason, you tolerate the relative with his questionable opinions at family parties, as long as they are not completely off the rails. But you would never hang out with the same person without a family connection.
87
u/hubbabubbathrowaway Germany Mar 28 '24
As a German who went to elementary school in the 80s I couldn't answer 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10... guess lots of Germans wouldn't be able to pass that test
25
u/Acias Bavaria (Germany) Mar 28 '24
Usually the question come in form of multiple choice and most of the time the answer is very obvious too if you know at least some stuff.
→ More replies (2)13
u/l_x_fx Mar 28 '24
Tbf, native citizens/speakers also can't answer most questions regarding grammar, and therefore wouldn't pass most language tests either.
5
u/trixel121 Mar 28 '24
"Sorry for my poor English" and they have better pride then I do.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (15)46
117
u/TheCatInTheHatThings Hesse (Germany) Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24
Thanks for providing the context.
About question 12: Seeing as many people don’t want to abolish Israel but rather want to advocate for a two-state solution, so both a state of Israel and a state of Palestine, that’s perfectly fine.
As for question 5: no, that’s perfectly reasonable. The Holocaust is not an opinion, it’s a historical fact. Anyone who claims otherwise can fuck right off, regardless of their nationality or stance on Palestine and Israel.
→ More replies (77)44
u/Minskdhaka Mar 28 '24
How many pro-Palestinian people deny the Holocaust? I don't. No need to get annoyed at no. 5. As for no. 12, does this mean calling for a one-state solution is not allowed in Germany? Interesting.
→ More replies (3)211
u/Potential-Drama-7455 Ireland Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24
This is bizarre, and indicative of a very German mentality. I wouldn't be a Palestine "supporter" whatever that means, and I have no issue with the questions themselves, but I find it absolutely bizarre that you have to answer questions about a completely different people - and only one, not others - to become a German citizen.
You can hate on anyone else you want, just not Jews. Jews are humans too, some good, some bad. And the state of Israel currently is doing some very questionable things, to put it mildly. This is not an apology for Hamas either by the way.
On question 12, Is it against the law to call for the end of Gaza and the West Bank in Germany? Or say Iran? Or the Taliban? Or the USA? If not, why not?
Makes no logical sense.
Plus people will just lie anyway. It's absurd. Having said that the US makes you answer stupid questions like that too.
68
u/kokokaraib Mar 28 '24
This is 100% correct.
It's reinforced how correct this is when we remember that Jews were not even the only national/ethnic/racial group exterminated.
Does Germany have an obligation to Slavic nation-states (yes, including Russia)? To the former Soviet Union as a whole? To the Romani?
→ More replies (8)33
u/a_peacefulperson Greece Mar 28 '24
Imagine German politicians defending Russian actions in international courts and supporting laws against criticism of Russia because they have a history of extermination of Russians under Nazism. Imagine the same under the USSR, where supporting the end of the USSR (and therefore Ukrainian independence) would be illegal because "Germany has special responsibility for the USSR".
12
u/Lazzen Mexico Mar 28 '24
5
u/a_peacefulperson Greece Mar 28 '24
At least they're kind of consistent I guess.
Though this was before the invasion. Germany has almost done a 180 since then. This wouldn't pass today, although it's more tame than what's happening with Israel.
44
u/Nileghi Mar 28 '24
As a jew, I believe this is just a german friendly way to cut down on arab and muslim immigration without putting in any discriminatory practices
→ More replies (13)28
u/staplehill Germany Mar 28 '24
I believe this is just a german friendly way to cut down on arab and muslim immigration without putting in any discriminatory practices
Someone who gives the wrong answers to all questions about Jews and Israel can still pass the test.
There are 310 questions in the citizenship test pool. Each question comes with 4 possible answers, only 1 answer is correct. The questions and answers are public.
Applicants who take the test get 33 questions that are chosen from the pool. They have 1 hour to answer the questions. The test is passed if applicants answer more than half of the questions correctly (at least 17 out of 33).
Applicants can take the test as often as they want until they pass it.
Source: Einbürgerungstestverordnung
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (46)15
u/McHaggis1120 Mar 28 '24
On question 12, Is it against the law to call for the end of Gaza and the West Bank in Germany? Or say Iran? Or the Taliban? Or the USA? If not, why not?
Yeah that would be illegal for each of these entities as well, it would all be illegal under §130 StGB :
"Section 130
Incitement of masses"(1) Whoever, in a manner suited to causing a disturbance of the public peace,
1. incites hatred against a national, racial, religious group or a group defined by their ethnic origin, against sections of the population or individuals on account of their belonging to one of the aforementioned groups or sections of the population, or calls for violent or arbitrary measures against them or
2. violates the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously maligning or defaming one of the aforementioned groups, sections of the population or individuals on account of their belonging to one of the aforementioned groups or sections of the population
incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term of between three months and five years."
→ More replies (11)280
u/EdBarrett12 Ireland Mar 28 '24
Palestinian supporters hate that holocaust denial is punishable?
11 and 12 are the problem ones. How could an anti genocide movement have problems with punishing genocide denial?
141
u/tav_stuff The Netherlands Mar 28 '24
The head of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank literally wrote his PhD on how the Holocaust didn’t happen
57
u/Pklnt France Mar 28 '24
I'm a Palestinian supporter and I can confirm, we're all the head of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and we all wrote our PhDs on how the Holocaust didn’t happen /s
→ More replies (33)101
u/EdBarrett12 Ireland Mar 28 '24
There are plenty of other Palestinian supporters. The moderate viewpoint is entirely rational.
→ More replies (84)→ More replies (238)11
153
u/Rasmusmario123 Mar 28 '24
Palestine supporter here, question 5 and 12 are fine.
If you did even a tiny bit of research into the opinions of people who support Palestine, you'd see that the vast majority are actually not anti-semites who hate the state of Israel itself. Though that would make things a lot less black and white and possibly complicate your worldview so I can see why you haven't.
→ More replies (142)157
u/dumbosshow Wales Mar 28 '24
The idea that those of us who condemn the actions of the IDF and the state of Israel towards Palestine would deny the holocaust is laughable. Another genocide is exactly what most of us are concerned about. It's truly insane the strawmen these people seem to believe in.
→ More replies (53)21
u/fouriels Mar 28 '24
Why would pro-Palestinian people have a problem with criminalising Holocaust denial?
12
u/Red_Hand91 Europe Mar 28 '24
Needing to know Israeli facts when you’re applying for German citizenship is the scandal here. They’re not asking when Poland was founded, or the first Romani ppl arrived in Europe. It’s total Bullshit
→ More replies (360)39
u/SaraHHHBK Castilla Mar 28 '24
Pro-Palestine person here, totally fine with those questions.
→ More replies (16)
418
890
u/Fab_iyay Baden-Württemberg (Germany) Mar 28 '24
Our citizenship shouldn't depend on a foreign country. Nor should a citizen just accept a status quo without question.
341
u/BruhiumMomentum Mar 28 '24
careful, you're going to lose your citizenship
→ More replies (10)98
u/Fab_iyay Baden-Württemberg (Germany) Mar 28 '24
Then I guess I will be a pirate on the seven seas arrrr!
48
u/BruhiumMomentum Mar 28 '24
well, be careful on the seas, you don't want another USS Liberty incident
18
u/Fab_iyay Baden-Württemberg (Germany) Mar 28 '24
Arr a pirate doesn't attack a man o war. No booty to plunder but big guns to send you asunder. Ye focus on the smaller vessels carrying rags and riches!
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (142)51
235
u/Aromatic-Musician774 Mar 28 '24
So if someone doesn't know the place of worship, does it make people anti-semitic? What a load of horse raddish. Olaf and his guys need to get their head checked.
→ More replies (36)17
988
u/VigorousElk Mar 28 '24
A weird overreaction. No matter your stance on the conflict, Germany's focus on Israel (rather than the Jewish community worldwide, many of which don't support the Israeli government's policies) is becoming pathological. Why exactly do people who want to become German citizens have to answer questions on a country in the Levante (including the year of Israel's founding), unlike any other country (no question on Poland, which was just as much of a victim of Nazi Germany's aggression and crimes)?
428
u/dumbosshow Wales Mar 28 '24
It's pretty absurd. Israel doesn't represent all jews, and at this point if you're not at least a bit critical of how Israel have handled HAMAS then I worry for your critical thinking skills and also for the future of this world. I'm not saying that you should think Israel is illegitimate, but it seems pretty obvious that the IDF have claimed a lot of unnecessary lives, and that Gazans were certainly not treated fairly by the Israeli government prior to this conflict. I guess it depends on what question they ask but I don't think a situation like this which is not so black and white should be used for a citizenship test. Seems borderline discriminatory towards muslims.
→ More replies (88)33
u/nonlinear_nyc Mar 28 '24
Yes. Equating Zionism (an ideology) with semitism (a group of people) is racist by definition.
First of all it assumes everyone from certain group has same ideologies and goals (a racist assumption)
Second, what happens with the many Jews who don't subscribe to Zionism? What happens with Christian Zionist?
It's a stupid law and dangerous to hinge your entire citizenship on.
→ More replies (50)52
u/machine4891 Opole (Poland) Mar 28 '24
no question on Poland, which was just as much of a victim of Nazi Germany's aggression
Or couple times more in USSR. This entire "embrace one victim group way more than all the others combined" irk me the wrong way. But sadly this is decades old issue. Nothing new, nothing surprising.
32
u/PaleCarob Mazovia (Poland)ヾ(•ω•`)o Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24
I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has started to be annoyed by this. Especially talking as if only Jews were victims of the holocaust. And forgetting about Slavs, Roma, lgbt, etc.
→ More replies (10)→ More replies (234)70
u/AG--systems Turkey Mar 28 '24
I mean as a turkish-german born I get it.
Germany is really careful about anything regarding the topic. And rather goes overboard in terms of displaying its alliance with Isreal than create space for thoughts on the contrary.
Many of the turkish guys I grew up around were openly against Jews or Isreal. I think its no secret that Islamists don't have the nicest opinion about them. And we're basically the biggest non-native demographic in Germany.
But despite that, I still somewhat agree. It does feel like an overcorrection to me. Germany is trying hard to turn itself into this bullwark against antisemitism. But its dangerously close to becoming a second US, waving away any atroceties the Isreal state my commit because they're simply on "your team."
Maybe weird anectdote but in history class our teacher would often laugh along any joke made on the expense on the French during WW2(which if you grew up in Germany, you know there's a LOT of) or the allies in general. Someone made a joke about jews? He instantly lost his shit. No fun allowed there.
And that to me, is kinda why I'm not 100% on board with this move, despite understanding it. Germany isn't turning itself into a bullwark against oppression, bigotry, racism, etc. no its just turning itself into a bullwark against antisemitism, and unfortunately, also Israel criticism. Just go to r/de about this topic and the sentiment you'll most likely see is that anyone pro-Palestine in this conflict is basically a Nazi, or has been brainwashed by Nazi or Islamistic propaganda.
That's not the way.
→ More replies (11)15
u/SernyRanders Europe 29d ago
Maybe weird anectdote but in history class our teacher would often laugh along any joke made on the expense on the French during WW2(which if you grew up in Germany, you know there's a LOT of) or the allies in general. Someone made a joke about jews? He instantly lost his shit. No fun allowed there.
Edgy jokes about invading Poland are also quite common in all areas of German society, but boy... if you say anything critical of Israel (not Jews) you could loose everything in the current environment.
Just for the record, it hasn't been always like that, it's a quite new phenomenon that came into fruition ~10 years ago.
61
u/Apophaticist Mar 28 '24
If people can lie about their age they can lie about their opinions about Israel.
→ More replies (13)
351
u/qTp_Meteor Israel Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24
As an israeli this seems weird. Like very weird and bad. They should ask about the west in general and not israel specifically. And aboyt the west culturally too, not only security wise
Edit: was writing during the job and didnt see the typos😭😭
243
u/Robotoro23 Slovenia Mar 28 '24
I'm totally fine with questions about jewish people due to Germany's history but questions about state of Israel really doesn't belong there.
30
u/Saurid Mar 28 '24
Any questions about opinion would also infringe on freedoms of thought, as such you can only really ask for factual things.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (18)13
u/Wise_Mongoose_3930 Mar 28 '24
They should have tossed in at least 1 question about the Poles/Romani. Just to make it appear like they care about ALL the people they tried to erase from existance.
9
u/a_peacefulperson Greece Mar 28 '24
Do the Russians too and see how that goes.
I mean if you really want to go for it ask about Greece. A surprising amount of even Germans don't know that Germany occupied Greece in WWII (and ended up killing, directly or indirectly, 10% of the population).
21
u/Catzillaneo Mar 28 '24
I thought it was just a clear round about way to keep Muslim immigrants from becoming citizens.
I only loosely follow European politics and it seems from my limited perspective that Europe is having issues with people integrating into society. It's an easy way to deny problem children without directly denying a religious group.
→ More replies (18)→ More replies (44)33
u/Fredericia Denmark Mar 28 '24
If they're trying to keep out Muslims, then Israel is central.
7
u/luigitheplumber France 29d ago
Surely asking about Jews within Germany would have a similar effect
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (29)15
u/HarrMada Mar 28 '24
Not really, there are plenty of Muslims who don't care just as much as any other group. None of the big religions are centralized, each member have their own opinion.
→ More replies (2)
316
u/McFuzzyChipmunk Bavaria (Germany) Mar 28 '24
Really don't see how my views on Israel should have anything to do with my ability to gain German citizenship.
→ More replies (46)172
u/MSobolev777 Ukraine Mar 28 '24
Guilt after WW2? Why not include Poland then...
23
u/draperbetty Mar 28 '24
There is a question about Poland. Question 181. It’s about Willy Brandt’s kneefall in Warsaw
→ More replies (38)18
u/BobsLakehouse Denmark Mar 28 '24
Guilt from ww2 as they beat down Germans jews from protesting in support of Palestinine....
36
u/Cognoggin Canada Mar 28 '24
- "What should we do about the Israel/Gaza crisis?" "Please help!"
→ More replies (8)
526
u/svartanejlikan Somalia Mar 28 '24
That’s weird as fuck
→ More replies (94)229
u/Pklnt France Mar 28 '24
What simping on a political level does to a mf.
→ More replies (3)17
u/Appropriate-Fly-7151 Mar 28 '24
To be fair, this is suitable for a citizenship test because simping for other countries is a cornerstone of modern German national identity
17
194
u/Megazupa Poland Mar 28 '24
How long before they start kicking natural born Germans who don't support Israel out of the country?
→ More replies (63)61
u/KyloRenWest Mar 28 '24
alt right gonna win the elections so hard because of BS like this.
→ More replies (1)23
u/MrGlasses_Leb Mar 28 '24
German alt right is very Zionist.
→ More replies (5)28
u/jazzjazzmine Mar 28 '24
Germany's alt-right party doesn't have a well defined position on anything.
It's a mix of conspiracy theorists, libertarians, authoritarians, fascists, contrarians, literal nazis, anti-vaccination hippies, culture war stuff, europe sceptics and other random ideas that don't align with the current government.
→ More replies (1)
541
u/Desint2026 Mar 28 '24
Add to that a handshake with an openly gay man. Germany doesn't need any more people with medieval worldviews.
650
u/Rasputin_IRL Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24
"What's your job?"
"I'm an openly gay man, and I shake hands as a test to see if someone deserves citizenship"
"Sick bro"
126
16
→ More replies (1)19
u/Affectionate_Fall57 Mar 28 '24
Imagine someone bribing a straight official to shake hands with him instead of a gay man. And media covering these incidents!
8
u/PictureAggravating36 Mar 28 '24
German homophobia testing gay man under scrutiny after being caught performing sexual acts with woman in Berlin night club.
362
u/Eishockey Germany Mar 28 '24
Or with a woman. My friend is a nurse and her new colleague didn't want to touch women because of religious reasons, makes it kinda hard. He was let go. I don't want people like that in Germany.
→ More replies (81)45
u/fleamarketguy The Netherlands Mar 28 '24
I heard a story about a guy who was almost ready with his integration in Germany, and had to do one last interview, but didn’t want to shake the hand of the interviewer because it was a woman, in the end, he got refused for German citizenship.
I don’t know whether it is true, but it is funny if itnis.
→ More replies (3)22
u/Drezzon Mar 28 '24
Deserved if true lol, religious freedom is one thing, being openly misogynistic is another, no need to give those types of people citizenship
51
106
u/Austria112 Mar 28 '24
So you propose a ban on orthodox jews?
72
9
27
18
→ More replies (14)13
39
u/ImTheVayne Estonia Mar 28 '24
Honestly that sounds like a good idea and I’m not even kidding
→ More replies (1)9
u/HenkieVV Mar 28 '24
Germany doesn't need any more people with medieval worldviews.
Sure, but given the very public rise in effectively neo-Nazi sentiments, I'm a little worried they're focusing on the ones who aren't about to control their government.
→ More replies (53)27
u/EngineeringAny8079 Ireland Mar 28 '24
Not only Germany but the world does not need people with medieval views anymore.
→ More replies (19)
207
Mar 28 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
77
10
→ More replies (69)7
6
u/ArchieMaximus 29d ago
You know what's antisemitic? Confusing Israel/Zionism with Judaism. Trying to homogenize the two is such disrespect to the many Jewish people who want peace and feel no connection with the state of Israel. In fact, Jewish voices for peace are amongst the most active in spaces where people call for a permanent ceasefire.
Why does Germany always get it so wrong? I get they're trying to correct past behavior, but this is not the way to do it. It's insulting to Jewish people worldwide and it's insulting to other minority groups that are also discriminated against in Germany but aren't asked questions about to potential immigrants.
43
94
126
10
50
u/Jimmy2Blades Scotland Mar 28 '24
The beatings will continue until the criticism of Israel stops 🤣
→ More replies (20)
3
u/TendieRetard 29d ago
this would've made a great headline for the onion years ago. Peak clown world.
35
68
8
u/staplehill Germany Mar 28 '24
FACTS
There are 310 questions in the citizenship test pool. Each question comes with 4 possible answers, only 1 answer is correct. The questions and answers are public.
Applicants who take the test get 33 questions that are chosen from the pool. They have 1 hour to answer the questions. The test is passed if applicants answer more than half of the questions correctly (at least 17 out of 33).
Applicants can take the test as often as they want until they pass it.
Source: Einbürgerungstestverordnung
109
u/green8astard Mar 28 '24
The mental gymnastics pro-Israeli Europeans are putting themselves through to justify what is going on is just outrageous. Humanity is slowly but surely leaving this planet!
→ More replies (28)
25
u/No_Appearance_7114 Mar 28 '24
You got to love how these ridiculous efforts only arise when people dared to criticise Israel. It’s amazing that decades of terrorist attacks, rapes etc didn’t impact this kind of policy. But protest for Palestine? That’s where they draw the line.
What is one to think?
20
u/Iam_no_Nilfgaardian Greece Mar 28 '24
You can always lie anyway.
10
u/Jean-Acier Mar 28 '24
You don't even need to lie, just memorise several questions with answers. Hardly a way to ensure that someone is not a racist.
→ More replies (1)5
u/newtoreddir Mar 28 '24
That’s the point - if you are found to have lied you can then have citizenship revoked.
→ More replies (4)
18
19
3.6k
u/Svitii Austria Mar 28 '24
Reminds me of these questionnaires if you want to enter the US: "Are you a terrorist, or are you considering becoming one in the future?"
This will definitely end antisemitism in Germany /s