On Thursday, July 16th, 2026, Germany's Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, approved a bill introduced by the state of Hesse that seeks to criminalize the public denial of the State of Israel's right to exist. The bill states that "anyone who publicly, or at a public assembly, denies the State of Israel's right to exist or calls for its destruction" would face criminal penalties.

Hesse's justice minister, Christian Heinz, highlighted that antisemitism has "spilled over" into Germany and the wider world since the Hamas attacks on October 7th, 2023. He noted that antisemitism now occurs "openly on our streets," with masses reportedly marching across the "stumbling stones"—brass plaques commemorating Jews murdered during the Nazi era—while shouting hateful slogans.

The bill's explanatory memorandum argues that existing German criminal laws, including those addressing incitement to hatred and the use of terrorist symbols, are insufficient to address this issue. Christian Heinz emphasized the historical and political links between National Socialist rule, the Holocaust, the founding of Israel, and the denial of Israel's right to exist as a basis for the legislation.

Despite the Bundesrat approving 45 draft bills during the current 21st legislative term of the Bundestag, which began in spring 2025, none have yet been enacted into law. The new bill now awaits consideration and potential enactment by the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament.

The bill is described as "very deliberately drafted in narrowly defined terms," with proponents stating, "We are introducing this bill now deliberately because the time has come to move beyond discussion and take legislative action."

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