(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, 03 NOV - Germany's ruling parties have
agreed a landmark resolution on combatting anti-Semitism that
will be put to parliament this week, political sources said
Saturday. The statement, which is non-binding, aims to toughen
the official campaign against anti-Semitism that has made
headlines since the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7 last
year.
Intensely debated by lawmakers of the ruling Social
Democratic Party (SDP), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) with the
opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), the draft says no group
that "questions the right of Israel to exist or calls for a
boycott of Israel" should receive public funding. It says the
mounting anti-Semitism is "more and more manifest and violent in
far-right circles" and also linked to "left-wing
anti-imperialism" groups. The resolution will be submitted to
parliament this week. The aim is to "protect, preserve and
strengthen Jewish life in Germany," according to a version seen
by AFP. Supporters say the statement is needed in response to
the growing number of anti-Semitic attacks in Germany since the
October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas which set off Israel's military
campaign in Gaza. Critics say some parts of the text will
restrict academic and cultural liberties however. On top of the
finance ban, the text says anti-Semitic groups' access to
educational buildings should be limited and in some cases they
should even be excluded from lessons or expelled. Germany
universities, as elsewhere in Europe and North America, have
seen noisy pro-Palestinian demonstrations since October 7, 2023
and fierce criticism of Israel's military onslaught. About 100
Jewish artists and intellectuals living in Germany said the
proposed text "does not achieve its own stated goals. It will
weaken, rather than strengthen, the diversity of Jewish life in
Germany by associating all Jews with the actions of the Israeli
government." A rival text drawn up by legal experts has been
backed by some 600 university, cultural and civic society
figures. (ANSA-AFP).
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