Following October 7th: - Increasing Numbers of Israelis Seek German Nationality
Recently, Israelis with German roots have been greatly interested in acquiring German citizenship, as revealed by a report. This interest has increased substantially following the major attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which marked a resurgence in the Middle East struggle. The Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland shared this information, referencing statistics from the Federal Administration Office (BVA).
The BVA manages something called "restitution naturalizations," involving individuals and their descendants who lost their German citizenship between 1933 and 1945 due to Nazi persecution. These individuals primarily consist of persecuted Jews.
A Spike in Applications from Israel Following Conflict
The BVA states that, within the first four months of 2024, 6869 applications were sent from Israel. During the entire year of 2023, 9129 applications originated from Israel. Contrast this with the 5670 Israelis who applied in 2022.
The total number of applications for restitution naturalizations in 2023 reached nearly 14,000, a substantial increase from the roughly 11,400 applications in 2022. So far this year, 9371 people have shown interest in gaining German citizenship through this method. The United States has had the highest number of requests following Israel.
In October 2023, the extremist Islamist group Hamas perpetrated an unparalleled assault on Israel, resulting in the deaths of over 1170 people and the abduction of more than 252 individuals as hostages in the Gaza Strip. Israel has been heavily involved in military engagement in the Gaza Strip ever since, according to Israeli sources.
However, the statistics reported by the health ministry controlled by Hamas, which cannot be independently verified, indicate that more than 35,900 people have been killed thus far.
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In light of the escalating Middle East conflict precipitated by Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, which resulted in significant casualties, there has been a notable surge in Israeli citizens applying for German citizenship through the BVA's restitution naturalization program. Additionally, the number of Israeli applications for restitution naturalizations in the first four months of 2024 surpassed the total number of applications submitted in 2022, further demonstrating the impact of the conflict on this trend.
Source: www.stern.de
