Democratic freedoms at risk as Germany’s new government prioritises support for Israel

As Germany enters a new political chapter under the leadership of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), civil liberties are already showing signs of erosion. Both parties have pledged unwavering support for the Israeli government, but that loyalty now comes at the expense of Germany’s own democratic order. Protests are banned, speech is criminalised and legal procedures are bypassed – not for public safety, but to enforce ideological conformity with German foreign policy.

The doctrine of Staatsräson – a political reasoning the state gave itself that has no power of law and has long been cited as Germany’s historical obligation to Israel – is no longer symbolic. Under the incoming CDU-SPD coalition, it is being used to justify the political suppression of dissent, the misuse of police powers and interference with international legal obligations. What is under threat is not merely freedom of expression, but the very structure of the rule of law.

Undermining the ICC: Germany pledges protection for Netanyahu

As the International Criminal Court (ICC) prepares potential arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over alleged war crimes in Gaza, top German officials have made clear they will not comply. CDU leader Friedrich Merz announced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be protected from prosecution in Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed the message, stating he “cannot imagine” Netanyahu being arrested on German soil.

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These statements directly violate Germany’s obligations under the Rome Statute and the country’s ICC cooperation law (IStGHG). The judiciary – not the executive – is tasked with acting on international warrants. By pledging obstruction, both Merz and Scholz breach the separation of powers and subordinate political authority to legal procedure. What they offer instead is impunity, not justice.

On the ground: Protest bans and police violence

Since October 2023, pro-Palestinian demonstrations across Germany have been banned without legal justification. Registered protests have been cancelled minutes before they begin, often with excessive force deployed against participants. One Berlin-based activist described the shift:

“We arrived for a protest that had already been approved. The police cancelled it as the crowd gathered. Then they attacked us. Women were beaten. I’ve lived here for decades, but I’ve never seen the German police act this way.”

The violence is not random. Police officers have confirmed that they receive internal lists identifying banned phrases, slogans and symbols before every protest – usually without any legal explanation. One officer recalled: “We were told to arrest anyone saying ‘From the river to the sea’, but they didn’t tell us what law that supposedly breaks. They just said: this is antisemitic – take them in.”

Officers also expressed discomfort with the chain of command, where speech was prioritised for intervention even over acts of violence: “Why are we arresting people for what they say (…) [t]hat doesn’t make sense to most of us.”

Illegal deportations and arbitrary detentions

The SPD-led Interior Ministry in Berlin has presided over a wave of politically motivated deportations targeting foreign nationals accused of supporting Palestinian activism. In at least one case, internal records show that Berlin’s immigration office opposed the deportation on legal grounds – only to be overruled by federal officials with arguable legal authority.

Four individuals were deported without trial or conviction. “This wasn’t about safety,” said one lawyer familiar with the case: “It was about silencing political voices that don’t align with government policy.”

Suppressing Jewish dissent and artistic freedom

Germany’s crackdown has not stopped at the borders of ethnicity or religion. Jewish and Israeli critics of Israeli policy have also been targeted. An open letter signed by dozens of Jewish artists and scholars condemned what they called “a disturbing crackdown on civic life.” The letter stated:

“Public gatherings have been banned not just for Palestinians, but for Jews and Israelis. In one especially absurd case, a Jewish Israeli woman was detained for standing alone in a public square with a sign denouncing the war waged by her own country.”

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The signatories criticised the misuse of Holocaust memory to justify state repression: “We reject the pretext of protecting Jews to justify racist violence. What frightens us is the prevailing atmosphere of racism and xenophobia in Germany, hand in hand with a constraining and paternalistic philo-Semitism.”

Weaponised memory

Philosopher Omri Boehm, a Jewish Israeli and descendant of Holocaust survivors, was disinvited from a Holocaust memorial event after criticising the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza.The symbolism was inescapable: a Jewish intellectual barred from speaking about ethics and remembrance at a Holocaust site because his views no longer aligned with state-approved ideology. The exclusion of Boehm marks a profound rupture in Germany’s post-war identity. Holocaust memory is no longer an ethical guide; it has become a political instrument.

This shift extends beyond commemorative spaces. In April 2024, German authorities barred several invited speakers from attending a Palestine Congress in Berlin. Among them were Greek economist and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, Palestinian writer Salman Abu Sitta and British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah. The event was shut down by police shortly after it began.

Ghassan Abu Sittah, who had recently worked in Gaza with Médecins Sans Frontières, was banned from entering the European Union (EU) under a Schengen-wide measure, later overturned by a German court for lack of legal grounds​.

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The legal measures reveal a growing constitutional crisis. In both cases, authorities cited vague threats without presenting evidence. Varoufakis was reportedly subject to a “political activity ban” –an arguably unlawful move against an EU citizen​. The court found that the case against Abu Sittah rested on unsubstantiated claims and did not meet the threshold of serious risk.

Legal order in decline

The CDU and the SPD – who were primarily responsible for overusing executive power unconstitutionally – are now the architects of a legal regime in which fundamental rights will no longer be universally applied, but selectively granted based on political alignment when it comes to any criticism against the brutal war of Israel against Palestine. From street-level arrests to international law, both parties have demonstrated a willingness to compromise legal norms in order to protect Israel from criticism.

This is not an accident of history. It is a calculated reordering of law and power executed from the highest levels of government.

Dissent criminalised, democracy dismantled

Germany’s Constitution was founded in the shadow of authoritarian collapse. Its core provisions were meant to prevent the return of unchecked executive authority. Today, those provisions are being hollowed from within, not by far-right radicals, but by centrist leaders who claim to defend democracy.

“I used to feel at home here,” the Berlin organiser told us. “But since October 7, I feel like I’m being watched. Judged. Treated like an enemy of the state.”

What is unfolding in Germany is not a defence of Jewish life. It is the criminalisation of political opposition. And as the CDU and SPD prepare to govern, they will not just keep overruling the balance of rights and power. They are remaking executive powers in their own image, compromising on basic human rights.

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