In response to recent incidents of Jew-hatred at a demonstration in Kiel and a controversy at the Berlinale film festival, Schleswig-Holstein intends to tighten its criminal laws. Hate against Jews is to be classified as a particularly severe form of incitement to hatred.
Minister-President Daniel Günther has submitted a proposal for the conference of federal state leaders. The draft calls for hatred against Jews and Israel to be treated as a “particularly serious case of incitement to hatred”.
Günther is also calling for the “minimum sentences for such crimes to be significantly increased”. Attacks on peaceful demonstrators should also be punished more severely than at present.
Schleswig-Holstein justifies the initiative with recent attacks on a pro-Israel demonstration in Kiel and anti-Israel remarks at the Berlinale. These were described as an “unbearable expression of antisemitic and anti-Israel agitation”. Antisemitic incidents, the draft states, have “reached an unbearable level both quantitatively and qualitatively”.
The proposal further underlines that anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism must be condemned “in all respects”, regardless of ideological background. The rule of law must respond “decisively with all available means”.
Günther links the initiative to a broader message: “The protection of Jewish life is the measure of its credibility.” The pledge “Never Again” must not become an empty slogan. “This must not be the Germany of 2026,” he warned.
