To pass the test to become a citizen of Germany, applicants must answer 17 questions correctly out of 33, drawn from a potential pool of 300 questions amended to test knowledge about Jewish life and history.
Examples of the new questions include “What is a Jewish house of prayer called?” and “How is Holocaust denial punished in Germany?”
Correct answers: “Synagogue” and “With as much as three years behind bars.”
One question asks when the State of Israel was founded and another for “the reason for Germany’s special responsibility for Israel.”
Correct answers: “May 14, 1948” and “As a result of the German crime against humanity of the Holocaust comes our special responsibility for the protection of Jews and for the protection of the State of Israel. This responsibility is part of our identity today,” according to German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
Faeser said “anyone who doesn’t share our values can’t get a German passport. We have drawn a crystal-clear red line here.”
She added that “antisemitism, racism and other forms of contempt for humanity rule out naturalization.”
The test may also feature more obscure questions, such as asking who can join the Jewish Maccabi sports club.
Correct answer: “Anyone.”
–JNS.org. | Used with permission