Germany's upper house of parliament has voted to make denying Israel's right to exist a criminal offence, backing a proposal put forward by the state of Hesse. The draft legislation envisions prison sentences of up to five years or fines, though punishment would apply only where the denial is deemed likely to encourage antisemitic violence or arbitrary acts.
The Bundestag is expected to take up the matter after the summer recess. However, the Bundestag's own research service has warned that the bill is fundamentally incompatible with freedom of expression protections.
The push for stricter penalties comes after police recorded a five percent rise in antisemitic hate crimes last year, to 6,548 offences. Nearly half of the antisemitic hate crimes recorded in 2025 were linked to the Middle East conflict.