Gaza war brings winds of change in German stance on immigration

While the world is watching the Israeli-Palestinian drama unfold and is hotly debating the justification of Israeli air strikes and a looming offensive on the ground - it cannot help but reevaluate its own policies, as well.

After the gruesome pictures of the Hamas terror attack on the 7th of October, other images circulating on the German social media sparked even more outrage.

Photos of pro-Palestinian protests in the streets of cities like Berlin and Hamburg, tweets by spokespeople for the Islamic minority in Germany showing understanding for the cruel attack by Hamas, and interviews with refugees from Islamic countries who unashamedly and unapologetically celebrated the killing of Israeli civilians.

The shock effect caused by this situation might very well turn the tide on the longstanding open-border and refugee welcome policies uplifted by the German government since at least 2015.

The left-wing German coalition governing since 2021 has the lowest approval rating in the history of German democracy.

The reason for this is multifold but the unwillingness to deny immigrants access to the state's social welfare system is obviously a big factor, made more visible by the all-time high approval rate of 23% for the far-right party AfD.

Therefore, in the last three weeks, unusual voices could be heard in Germany.

For example, the voice of Friedrich Merz, the leader of the conservative party CDU (32% in latest polls), demanding that new citizenship be given only to people who stand with Israel.

The others “have no business here,” he says. When asked whether Germany should give asylum to refugees from Gaza, Merz responded: “We already have enough young antisemitic men in the country.”

Even Olaf Scholz, chancellor and head of the social democratic party SPD (15% in polls) showed dissatisfaction with the current immigration policy of his own government.

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Scholz announced his intention to reduce the number of immigrants to Germany:

“On the one hand, there is the immigration of workers that we need. And there are those who are seeking asylum because they are the targets of political oppression. On the other hand, though, that means that all those who don’t belong to one of those groups cannot stay. That is why we are limiting irregular migration to Germany. Too many people are coming.”

“We must finally deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay in Germany,” he added.

Whether these announcements will actually lead to a real change in the immigration policy adopted by Germany is yet to be seen.

The language used by politicians, on the other hand, undoubtedly has changed already, resulting in statements that one is not used to hearing in Germany.