The Central Council of Jews in Germany is pressing Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government to criminalize the denial of Israel's right to exist.
In comments released on Friday, the organization's leader, Josef Schuster, told dpa that denying the country's right to exist amounts to the "demand for the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel."
He said the viewpoint has spread since the October 7, 2023, attacks and has become "an increasingly open gateway for anti-Semitic hatred disguised as anti-Zionism."
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,200 people in the deadliest single day for Israel since its independence. The Israeli military launched a massive war on Gaza in response, resulting in many more casualties on the Palestinian side.
Schuster is backing an initiative by Germany's upper chamber of parliament, the Bundesrat, to criminalize denials of Israel's right to exist.
"The federal government is now called upon to frame this legislation in a way that is consistent with the constitution," Schuster said. "The announced review of the Bundesrat initiative is a first step that must be followed by concrete action."
The government has expressed scepticism about the Bundesrat's proposal. In a statement, it said it would examine the draft law but warned that the amendment to the criminal code intended by the Bundesrat carried a "considerable constitutional risk."
The draft, introduced by the central state of Hesse, provides that people who publicly deny the right of the state of Israel to exist or call for its elimination should be punished with a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine.
It would only be a criminal offence if done in a manner likely to "promote a willingness to commit anti-Semitic acts of violence or arbitrary measures."