Germany could become the first European country to revoke the citizenship of dual nationals supporting terrorism, extremism and antisemitism. As reported by the German news site Deutsche Welle, the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) are working on a clause to Germany’s Nationality Law that would move in this direction.

In June 2024, Germany already restricted citizenship eligibility for individuals who denied the Holocaust, shared certain anti-Israel slogans or contravened the country’s commitment to the protection of Jews.

The Schuln & Elseven law firm's website explains: “In alignment with Germany’s commitment to inclusivity and upholding democratic values, the new law expressly states that criminal convictions related to anti-Semitic, racist, xenophobic, or inhumane acts serve as grounds for exclusion from German citizenship”.

In the meantime, in early April, the US DHS announced that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would begin considering aliens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests. This new measure would immediately affect aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity.

These are two important measures that could have a strong impact in the West since both, Europe and the United States, have seen a dramatic increase in antisemitism since immediately after the October 7^th 2023 massacre, with thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrations displaying genocidal and pro-terror banners and slogans such as “From the river to the sea”, “Khaybar Khaybar ya Yahud, jaysh-i Muhammad sawf-a yaud” ("Khaybar, Khaybar O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return"), calls for Intifada and the destruction of the State of Israel.

The situation in Europe: the reported antisemitic incidents

In Europe, the situation is especially concerning, and it is not by coincidence that in October 2024, the European Union released a declaration in which the member states condemned the massive rates of antisemitism in the Old Continent and called for more action to combat and prevent it.

In the UK, Jews experienced 3,528 reported antisemitic incidents during 2024, a figure that is second only to the 4,296 incidents recorded the year before, according to a new report by CST, a non-profit that monitors antisemitism and provides security for the Jewish community in Britain. The report charted 201 incidents of assault in 2024 that included 2,892 reports of abusive behavior, 250 threats, 157 cases of damage and desecration of Jewish property, and 27 incidents of antisemitic literature. 

In France, a report by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) based on figures from the Jewish community and the Ministry of the Interior documented nearly 1,600 anti-Semitic acts in 2024, a slight dip on the year before but still at levels unseen in recent years as the Israel-Hamas war raged in Gaza. 

In Italy, as reported by the Antisemitism Observatory, the year 2024 witnessed a sharp increase in anti-Semitic acts if compared to 2023, a year that had already seen a worrying surge in events. Following 1,384 reports, there were 877 episodes of anti-Semitism, of which 600 concerned online anti-Semitism and 277 consisted of acts that materially occurred. In addition to traditional conspiracy theories (the main ideological matrix that fuels hatred against Jews), 2024 saw a strong growth in absolute terms and in percentage terms of episodes linked to war.

These numbers reflect reported anti-Semitic incidents out of the totality of incidents.

In many cases, the “fuel poured into the fire” comes straight out of Islamist propaganda and narrative, as explained by Stefano Gatti, a leading researcher at the Italian Osservatorio Antisemitismo (Antisemitism Observatory):

“As our studies show, contemporary anti-Semitism is largely linked to the theme of Israel and feeds on Western-style anti-Zionist narratives but, increasingly, on themes deriving from Islamic radicalism. My colleagues and I encounter this daily when we analyze the anti-Semitic web, where many myths and narratives come from the Muslim archive”.

Furthermore:

“The aggressive “anti-Zionist” demonstrations that began on October 10, 2023, are dominated by Islamic organizations close to the Brotherhood; slogans, ways of acting, iconography, are typical of movements on the Hamas model. And they are very aggressive models that advocate violence, even if (badly) disguised as “anti-Zionism”, “democratic” and “anti-racist” aspirations. This way of acting has also influenced student movements (both at high school and university levels) where keffiyehs that hide the face, burned flags and fideistic slogans dominate unchallenged”.

Gatti explained that he is in favor of revoking the citizenship of dual nationals who promote antisemitism, but also believes that in some EU countries the number of Muslims is so large that authorities could fear their reaction:

“Whether it is feasible in Europe, well, I have many doubts, there are countries like Belgium, Sweden, France where the Islamic communities have reached very high numbers and I believe they would react very badly to larger expulsion projects.”

Antisemitism spread by the Islamists

The International Conference on Combating Antisemitism held in Jerusalem on March 26 and 27, 2025, dedicated a panel to the Islamist-Antisemitism nexus, entitled:” How Radical Islam Fuels Antisemitism in the West”.

On this occasion, Muslim journalist Luai Ahmed explained how children attending mosques and Islamic schools in many Middle Eastern countries are being taught to chant:” Kill the Jews, kill the Zionists” therefore raising generations of Jew-haters. This ideology is also being imported to the West, to Europe, where it finds fertile ground since local authorities let the extremists preach in the name of democracy and free speech. Ahmed also said that the West paved the way for Islamists to take over and that “The Middle East is sending little Gazas to the West”.

Shortly after, Meyer Habib, a former member of the French National Assembly, pointed out that in France there have been plenty of pro-Palestinian demonstrations with slogans such as “From the river to the sea”, but none in favor of the slaughtered Syrians, Libyans or Iranians; only against the Jews.

This is indeed a situation that has been detected in other European countries as well. The Muslims never massively took to the streets against the persecution of Uyghurs by China, of the Rohingya in Burma, of the Iranian dissidents, the Libyans or the Kurds. It only happens if the enemies are the Jews and the Israelis.

The antisemitic and antizionist propaganda spread by the Islamists found the full support of the far left at street demonstrations in both, the United States and Europe. What is the common denominator gluing them together? The hatred towards Israel, which is accused of being the avant-garde of Western imperialism in the Middle East.

During demonstrations, Hezbollah and Hamas banners as well as genocidal slogans against Israel were displayed; for instance, on April 12^th in Milan, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration, a banner carried by the demonstrators read “Tear down the Zionist state,”, while another sign said: “For the revolutionary destruction of the Zionist state of Israel”. And again, a Tunisian flag with the writing “F**k you Israel”. 

Furthermore, Islamist preachers have been publicly praising violence against Jews and Israelis while spreading conspiracy theories about “Jews ruling the world”. Such content was also widely spread online.

After all, antisemitism has been present in the Arab and Muslim world for centuries, much before the birth of the State of Israel. The hostility and hatred of Islam towards the Jews (Yahudi) and the Israelites (Banu Israel), respectively understood as religious confession and ethnic group, root back to the Quran, with verses that refer to historical events of the time, specifically of the Medinan period. 

The most frequent accusations against the Jews are of being “the killers of prophets”, of being cursed because of their unbelief, indeed for rejecting the covenant with Allah and the Muslims by not accepting Muhammad as the prophet chosen by God. It is not by coincidence that such a narrative is often found within the propaganda spread by Islamist preachers throughout the West.

In the early 20^th century, the founders of the Muslim Brotherhood, and especially Sayyid Qutb, brought a major contribution to antisemitism within the Islamist ideology. Furthermore, it is worth remembering that Hajj Amin al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem between 1921 and 1937, did not just forge ties with the Nazis, but from 1941 to 1945, al-Husseini lived in Germany, where he served the Nazi war effort in many ways, including broadcasting Nazi propaganda to the Arab world. In 1943, al-Husseini met with Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler to discuss “the Jewish issue”. Afterward, al-Husseini informed his audience that the Germans had “decided to find a definitive solution to the Jewish danger” and urged all Arabs and Muslims to join the Germans in this “common battle against the Jewish danger,” effectively inciting genocide. It is therefore possible to detect a solid historical and ideological link between Islamism and Nazism.

Moving on with citizenship revocation

The Islamists have a full interest in spreading antisemitic and anti-Israeli propaganda and narrative in Europe as part of their war against the Jewish State. Moreover, the Islamists, supported by Qatar, are also hoping to influence European decision-makers into taking anti-Israel positions, exploiting the growing numbers of Muslims in the Old Continent and the infiltration into the EU political arena.

The term “antizionism”, often used by pro-Palestinian demonstrators to avoid being accused of antisemitism, as it would lead to legal repercussions, can easily be refuted since it uses the distortion and manipulation of historical events to deny Jews the right to a homeland, self-determination, and self-defense. As highlighted by the World Jewish Congress: “Just like any other people, the Jewish people have a right to self-determination.

As the previously cited Stefano Gatti explained, “the Islamo-Nazi totalitarian ideology must be eradicated through interventions on multiple levels: cultural, educational but also through law enforcement, by monitoring movements, stopping hate propaganda in religious centers, arresting and expelling their leaders and anyone who takes advantage of liberal democracy to spread hate.”

Therefore, revoking the citizenship of dual nationals who embrace antisemitic views and activism, with a consequent deportation to their country of origin would not only provide deterrence, but it would also remove from EU soil individuals who pose a threat to peaceful coexistence and security, therefore making it easier for the security services to manage the situation.