Individuals who wish to become a citizen in certain parts of Germany must now declare that they support the right of the state of Israel to exist, this in accordance with new requirements promulgated by Innenministerin Tamara Zieschang via a ministerial decree and applicable to the eastern Bundesland Sachsen-Anhalt. The commitment is applicable to foreigners who otherwise meet the requirements of citizenship. The candidates will also undergo a thorough examination to determine whether “indications that antisemitic attitudes are present.”

The policy is now in effect in Sachsen-Anhalt, the country’s eighth-largest state and one which borders Brandenburg, Sachsen, Thüringen, and Niedersachsen. Other states are considering similar requirements.

One way or another, Germany remains the same, a country of ducks marching regiments of the deaf following the blind.