Israel were therefore laid long before the Holocaust and cannot be understood exclusively as its consequence.

Israel were therefore laid long before the Holocaust and cannot be understood
exclusively as its consequence.
In addition, the draft adopts a partial and historically reductive perspective that
completely erases the Palestinian experience. The Palestinian Nakba—Arabic for
“catastrophe”—refers to the expulsion and flight of more than 700,000 Palestinians—
more than half of the Palestinian population of Mandatory Palestine—during the late
Mandate period and the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, as well as to the
continued denial of their right to return to their homes and homeland. UN Resolution
194 of 1948 already stipulated that Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return and
compensated for lost property. The Palestinian experience of displacement,
destruction, dispossession, and decades of statelessness—direct results of the
founding of the State of Israel—remains absent from the draft law.
Beyond these political and historical reductions, the question also arises as to which
State of Israel the draft law refers to. Does it refer to Israel within the 1949 Armistice
4
lines, the so-called Green Line? Although this line is not considered a final state border
under international law, the United Nations and the International Court of Justice treat it
as the relevant point of reference between the State of Israel and the territories
occupied since 1967. This is reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolutions 446 and
2334, among others. The Israeli government has never defined the state’s final borders
and, through the construction of settlements, has rendered partition along the Green
Line impossible. This development was further institutionally entrenched by Israel’s
2018 Nation-State Law, which declares a “complete and united” Jerusalem to be the
capital of Israel and explicitly elevates the promotion of Jewish settlement to a “national
value.” Or does the draft refer to a State of Israel that also includes the territories
occupied since 1967—namely East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the
Golan Heights?
By failing to specify the territorial boundaries of the State of Israel to which the draft
refers, the proposal risks blurring the crucial distinction between Israel’s internationally
recognized territory and the territories occupied since 1967. This could create the
impression that the occupied territories are implicitly being treated as part of Israeli
state territory. Such legislation could thereby provide political and legal backing for
further annexations and violations of international law involving the seizure of land,
while politically legitimizing the continued illegal occupation of the Palestinian
territories. Moreover, there is a danger that even political demands protected under
international law—such as the right of return for Palestine refugees and their
descendants—could be interpreted as questioning Israel’s right to exist and thereby
criminalized. Were the law to be adopted in this form, it would reinforce the impression
that the German federal government no longer recognizes international law and relevant
United Nations resolutions as authoritative reference points for its Middle East policy.
The proposed legislation follows a series of repressive measures directed against
individuals and groups expressing solidarity with Palestinians and criticizing Israeli
policy toward the Palestinian people. In doing so, the draft law advances far-reaching
historical and political reductionism aimed at delegitimizing certain positions within the
Middle East conflict. It thereby reinforces a trend toward narrowing the scope of debate
on Germany’s historical responsibility and its relationship to Israel. The original idea that
the Holocaust gave rise both to a particular responsibility toward Jews and to a universal
obligation to protect human rights has increasingly been reduced to a special
responsibility toward the State of Israel. It is therefore necessary to return to human
dignity as the highest normative principle. Article 1 of Germany’s Basic Law, which
states that human dignity is inviolable, embodies the universal lesson of the Holocaust.
This lesson obliges respect for the dignity of all human beings—including, of course, that
of Palestinians.
Democratic legislation should be grounded in verifiable historical and legal foundations,
not in ideological reductionism. As scholars researching and teaching about West Asia
5
and North Africa—the Middle East—as well as the Holocaust and antisemitism, we
therefore call for the proposed draft law not to be pursued further.
Sincerely,
Signatories / Unterschreibende:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Dr. Sara Ababneh, Lecturer in International Relations, University of Sheffield
Dr. Noha Abou-Khatwa, Arab and Islamic Civilisations, American University in
Cairo
Prof. em. Gilbert Achcar, Development Studies and International Relations, SOAS,
University of London
Dr. Hilal Alkan, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient
Dr. Rebecca Alpert, Religion, Temple University
Prof. Dr. Kai Ambos, Universität Göttingen
Prof. Schirin Amir-Moazami, Islamwissenschaft, Freie Universität Berlin
PD Dr. Arne Andersen (ret.), Geschichte Palästina/Israel.
Dr. Deborah Armintor, English, University of North Texas
10. Prof. Dr. Aleida Assmann, Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft, Universität Konstanz
11. Dr. Sâqib Bâburî, Curator of World Cultures, University of Edinburgh
12. Prof. em. Etienne Balibar, Philosophy, Université de Paris-Nanterre
13. Dr. André Bank, Institut für Nahost-Studien, German Institute for Global and Area
Studies (GIGA)
14. Distinguished Professor Beth Baron, Middle East History, City University of New
York, Director, Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC)
15. Prof. Dr. Martin Beck, International Relations and Political Economy, University of
Kurdistan Hewler
16. Prof. Brenna Bhandar, Law, University of British Columbia
17. Prof. Dr. Alice von Bieberstein, Institut für Europäische Ethnologie, Humboldt
Universität zu Berlin
18. Prof. Dr. Thomas Bierschenk, Anthropologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
Mainz
19. Prof. Christine Binzel, Economics: Economy and Society of the Middle East,
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
20. Prof. Sonja Brentjes, (ret.) formerly Max Planck Institute for the History of
Science, Berlin
21. Prof. em. Dr. Sabine Broeck, University of Bremen
22. Prof. Dr. Ruairidh MacMhanainn Bóid (ret.), Vorderasien
23. Prof. em. Dr. Doris Bühler-Niederberger, Soziologie, Universität Wuppertal
24. Dr. Imane Chaara, Development economics, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR)
25. Prof. John Chalcraft, Politics, London School of Economics (LSE)
26. Prof. Dr Benoit Challand, Sociology, New School for Social Research
27. Prof. Philippe CINQUIN, Public Health Univ. Grenoble Alpes
28. G. Daniel Cohen, Professor of History, Rice University
29. Dr. Jennifer L Creech, German Studies / Germanistik und DAF, Oregon State
University
6
30. Dr. Elyse Crystall, English & Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill
31. Dr Leyla Dakhli, History, CNRS, France / Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin
32. Prof. Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Political Sociology, Université Paris Cité
33. H. Chandler Davis Collegiate Professor Emeritus Alan Wald, English Literature and
American Culture, University of Michigan
34. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Donatella Della Porta, Social movements, democracy,
repression, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore
35. Dr. Sultan Doughan, Anthropology, Goldsmiths
36. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Duchrow, Theologie, Universität Heidelberg und Kairos Europa
37. Dr. Zuzanna Dziuban, Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung, TU Berlin
38. Prof. Ivar Ekeland, Président of Association des universitaires pour le respect du
droit international en Palestine (AURDIP), former Président of Paris Dauphine
University
39. Dr. Dörthe Engelcke, Komm. Leiterin des Kompetenzzentrums für das Recht
arabischer und islamischer Länder, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und
internationales Privatrecht
40. Prof. Merrill English, Western Illinois University
41. Prof. Mohammad Fadel, Law, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law
42. Prof. Marjorie Feld, US Jewish history, Babson College
43. Prof. Dr. Albrecht Fuess, Islamwissenschaftler, Marburg
44. Dr. Clive Gabay, Antisemitism, Zionism, International Politics, Queen Mary
University of London
45. Prof. Terri Ginsberg, Cinema Studies, Rutgers University
46. Prof. Amos Goldberg, The Jonah M. Machover Chair in Holocaust Studies, The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
47. Dr. Ori Goldberg, Iranian Studies, Comparative Theology, Independent
48. Prof. Neve Gordon, professor of international human rights and humanitarian law,
School of Law, Queen Mary University of London
49. Dr. Till Grallert, Institut für Geschichtswissenschaft, Humboldt-Universität zu
Berlin
50. Dr. Maria Grewe, Department of English, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
CUNY
51. Prof. Dr. Kai Hafez, Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft,
Universität Erfurt
52. Dr. Bink Hallum, Arabic Scientific Manuscripts Curator, British Library
53. Prof. Tahrir Hamdi, Decolonial Studies, Arab Open University/Jordan
54. Prof. Nelly Hanna, History, American University in Cairo
55. Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt, Islamwissenschaftler, Berliner Institut für Islamische
Theologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
56. Prof. Dr. Sophia Hoffmann, Internationale Politik und Konfliktforschung, Universität
Erfurt
57. Dr. Uri Horesh, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews
58. Dr. Annabelle Houdret, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
59. Prof. Dr. em. Jens Høyrup, Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Roskilde Universität,
Dänemark
60. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hübner, Old Testament Studies and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology,
Christian-Albrecht-Universität zu Kiel
7
61. Dr. Adnan Husain, Department of History, Queen’s University
62. Dr. Eli Jany, Yiddish, Independent
63. Dr. Halley Jean, Sociology, Graduate Center and the College of Staten Island of the
City University of New York
64. Prof. em. Annette Jünemann, Internationale Politik/ Europäische Mittelmeer- und
Nahostpolitik, Helmut-Schmidt-Universität, Universität der Bundeswehr in
Hamburg
65. Dr. Aurelia Kalisky, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Centre Marc Bloch
66. Prof. Andreas Kaplony, Arabistik und Islamwissenschaft, Ludwig-Maximilians
Universität München
67. Miss Vasiliki Karali, Middle Eastern Studies, SOAS
68. Prof. em. Rashid Khalidi, Middle Eastern History, History Department, Columbia
University
69. Dr. Mehdi Khamassi, Cognitive Science, Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique and Sorbonne University, France
70. Prof. Dr. Eberhard Kienle, Political Science / Politikwissenschaft, Sciences Po Paris
71. Prof. Hanna Kienzler, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King’s
College London
72. Prof. Dr. Teresa Koloma Beck, Soziologie, Helmut Schmidt Universität, Hamburg
73. Anat Kraslavsky, Theologische Fakultät, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
74. Dr. Wolfram Lacher, Senior Associate, Africa and Middle East division, Stiftung
Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)
75. Prof. Elad Lapidot, Hebraic Studies at the University of Lille
76. Prof. Mark LeVine, Prof of History of Israel/Palestine/Zionism and Middle East
histories, UC Irvine
77. Prof. Dr. Manfred Liebel, Soziologie, Fachhochschule Potsdam
78. Prof. Dr. Markus Loewe, Head of Research Department, German Institute of
Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
79. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mackert, Soziologie, Universität Potsdam
80. Prof. Charles H. Manekin, Philosophy, University of Maryland
81. Prof. Maya Mikdashi, Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Rutgers
University
82. PD Dr. Stephan Milich, Islamwissenschaft, Universität zu Köln
83. Prof. Jamal Mimouni, Head, Graduate Studies in Astrophysics, Physics
Department. University of Constantine1 & CERIST, Constantine, Algeria
84. Prof. Amira Mittermaier, Study of Religion/Anthropology, University of Toronto
85. Prof. Dirk Moses, Anne & Bernard Spitzer Chair in International Relations, City
College of New York (CUNY)
86. Prof. em. Martha Mundy, Anthropology, London School of Economics
87. Dr. Imad Mustafa, Politikwissenschaft
88. Dr. Ron Naiweld, Études Juives, CNRS-EHESS
89. Lic. Theol. Ulrich Nitschke, Theology / Social Science, Partnerschaftsverein Bonn
Ramallah e.V.
90. Prof. Atalia Omer, Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies, The University of Notre
Dame
91. Prof. Dr. Dr. Mathieu Ossendrijver, Professur für Wissenschaftsgeschichte des
Alten Orients, Freie Universität Berlin
8
92. Prof. Mo Pareles, Department of English Language and Literatures, University of
British Columbia
93. Dr. Hanna Pfeifer, Konfliktforschung/Nahoststudien, Institute for Peace Research
and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg
94. Prof. Michael Rothberg, English, Comparative Literature, and Holocaust Studies,
UCLA
95. Dr. Asst. Prof. Alice Rothchild (ret.), obstetrics and gynecology, human rights,
Harvard University
96. Prof. Yakov Rabkin, Contemporary history of the Jews, Zionism and Israel,
Université de Montréal
97. Prof. Lutz Richter-Bernburg, (ret.), Islamwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen
98. Dr. Nils Riecken, Institut für Arabistik und Islamwissenschaft, Ruhr-Universität
Bochum
99. Prof. Dr. Ann Rigney, Comparative Literature, Utrecht University
100. Prof. Mònica, Rius-Piniés Gender and Postcolonial Studies, Universitat de
Barcelona
101. Prof. Adam Rzepka, English, Montclair State University
102. Dr. Salam Said, Political Economy, Independent Scholar
103. Dr. Ilyas Saliba, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Lehrstuhl für Internationale
Politik und Konfliktforschung, Universität Erfurt
104. Dr. Marinos Sariyannis, Department of Ottoman History, Institute for
Mediterranean Studies/FORTH, Greece
105. Prof. Juliane Schicker, Associate Professor of German, Chair of German and
Russian, Carleton College
106. Dr. Samuli Schielke, Anthropology, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin
107. Prof. Dr. Oliver Schlumberger, Politik des Vorderen Orients, Universität Tübingen
108. Prof. em. Cathy Lisa Schneider, International Politics, Economics and Governance,
American University, School of International Service
109. Prof. em. Dr. Fred Scholz, Geographische Entwicklungsforschung, Freie Universität
Berlin
110. Dr. Natalie Scholz, Senior lecturer of modern and contemporary history, University
of Amsterdam
111. Dr. Benjamin Schütze, Politik der arabischen Welt, Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut
(ABI)
112. Dr. Regine Schwab, Programmbereich Innerstaatliche Konflikte, Leibniz-Institut für
Friedens- und Konfliktforschung
113. Prof. Daniel Segal, Anthropology and History, Pitzer College, The Claremont
Colleges
114. Prof. Raz Segal, Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and
Endowed Professor in the Study of Modern Genocide, Stockton University
115. Dr. José Segebre, Ästhetik & intersektionale Kritik, NYU Berlin
116. Assoc. Prof. Seikaly Sherene, Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of
California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
117. Prof. Nathan Sidoli, History and Philosophy of Science, Waseda University
118. Prof. Dr. Marc Siegel, Filmwissenschaft, Institut für Theater-, Film-, Medien-, und
Kulturwissenschaft, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
119. Dr. Prof. Victor Silverman, History, Pomona College
9
120. Prof. em. Martin Shaw, International Relations and Politics, University of Sussex,
recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award, International Network of Genocide
Scholars
121. Prof. em. Dr. Wolfgang Streeck, Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung
122. Dr. Nimer Sultany, Reader in Public Law, SOAS University of London
123. Prof. Abdel Razzaq Takriti, Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair in Arab
Studies, Department of History, Rice University
124. Dr. Estelle Tarica, Latin American Jewish Studies and Holocaust Memory,
University of California, Berkeley
125. Prof. Baki Tezcan, Department of History, University of California, Davis
126. Prof. Dr. Chris Tilly, Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles
127. Prof. Dr. Hanan Toukan, Middle Eastern Studies, Bard College Berlin
128. Prof. Barry Trachtenberg, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Wake Forest
University
129. Prof. Enzo Traverso, Professor in the Humanities, Romance Studies/History,
Cornell University
130. Prof. Charles Tripp, Politics of the Middle East and North Africa, SOAS, University of
London
131. Prof. Dr. phil Dr. rer. med. Peter Ullrich, Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung,
Technische Universität Berlin
132. Ana Velasco, Politikwissenschaft, Universität Bremen
133. Dr. René Wildangel, Geschichte Westasiens
134. Dr. Jan Wilkens, Internationale Beziehungen, insb. West Asien und Nordafrika
(WANA), GIGA Hamburg
135. Prof. Dr. Aram Ziai, Fachgruppe Politikwissenschaft, Fachgebiet
Entwicklungspolitik und Postkoloniale Studien, Universität Kassel
136. Prof. Dr. em. Wolfgang Zwickel, Altes Testament und Biblische Archäologie, Ev.
Theol. Fakultät, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
10