Germany has taken a major step toward criminalizing the public denial of Israel’s right to exist, as the Bundesrat approved a landmark proposal carrying penalties of up to five years in prison or a fine.

The measure, introduced by the state of Hesse, now moves through the federal legislative process before reaching the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house. It is expected to be considered after parliament’s summer recess and is not yet law.

The proposed amendment would add a new provision to Section 130 of Germany’s Criminal Code, which covers incitement of the public. It would punish anyone who publicly, or during an assembly, denies Israel’s right to exist or calls for the Jewish state’s elimination “in a manner capable of encouraging” antisemitic violence or arbitrary acts.

The bill’s explanatory text identifies several examples that could fall under the proposed law, including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” calls for a return to “Palestine ’48,” images showing Israel erased from maps and depictions of the Israeli flag or Star of David being thrown into a garbage can.

Those expressions would not automatically produce a conviction. Prosecutors and courts would still need to determine whether the statement was capable of encouraging antisemitic violence or persecution. The proposal also says peaceful debate over a one-state solution, federation or confederation would remain protected when it does not reject Jewish self-determination or promote violence.

Hesse argued that the legislation is needed to close a gap in German law. Denying Israel’s right to exist is not currently an independent criminal offense. Existing statutes may apply when a slogan explicitly endorses terrorism, approves a specific crime, calls for an identifiable criminal act or directly incites hatred against Jews, but statements formally directed against Israel can evade prosecution.

The proposal describes that language as a form of “indirect communication” in which antisemitism and an acceptance of violence against Jews are disguised as political criticism of a state. Its authors argue that Germany’s responsibility following the Holocaust gives the protection of Jewish self-determination a unique constitutional significance.

Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor welcomed the vote, declaring: “Those who deny Israel’s right to exist and spread antisemitic incitement will not get away with it unpunished.” He urged the Bundestag to enact the amendment quickly.

The legislation comes as Germany confronts a sustained wave of antisemitism following the Hamas-led October 7 massacre in Israel. Germany’s RIAS monitoring network documented a record 8,725 antisemitic incidents in 2025, averaging nearly 24 every day. Sixty-eight percent were classified as Israel-related antisemitism, while 178 assaults, 257 threats and four incidents of extreme violence were recorded.