Various European initiatives and policies which criminalize "holocaust denial" have for years dominated headlines and driven immense controversy over freedom of speech and public debate.
But Germany is now taking it a big step further, with the Bundesrat, Germany's upper house of parliament, having just approved a bill that would criminalize publicly denying Israel's "right to exist" or calling for its abolition.
via ReutersIf passed into law, a conviction would bring up to five years in prison, according to the proposed legal change. The legislation will now move to the lower house.
If ultimately approved, it would make Germany the first country in Europe to punish speech denying Israel's "right to exist".
Critics of such efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian activism and protests have pointed out that the question of any nation's "right" to "exist" is a highly philosophical and theoretical one, which makes it strange that any government would codify the statement into law, elevating it to a kind of of dogma.
The legal proposal would greatly expand Germany's existing Section 130 of the criminal code - which is what authorities currently use to prosecute Holocaust denial.
However, dissenters within the German government have warned the proposed expansion would be a violation of the German constitution, as it would establish a "special right against a specific opinion" in breach of Article 5. Here's what the constitution's "freedom of expression" clause says:
Every person
