German anti-Semitism commissioner calls for tougher criminal law

Germany's anti-Semitism commissioner has called for criminal law to be tightened. Anyone who openly cheers for the Palestinian militant group Hamas at a demonstration should face at least six months in prison, Felix Klein told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper in remarks published on Saturday.

"If the person is a foreign national without secure residence status, they should be deported after being convicted and serving their sentence," Klein said.

Klein, who is leaving his post to become Germany's ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, said he wanted Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig to tighten criminal law.

"Support for foreign terrorist organizations must be punishable in any form," he said.

Klein also called for customs authorities to be given greater powers to disrupt the financing of terrorist organizations.

He said successful projects aimed at combating anti-Semitism under Germany's "Live Democracy!" programme should continue to receive funding and called for the issue to become a compulsory part of teacher training.

"Anyone susceptible to anti-Semitism has no place in the teaching profession," Klein said.

He also urged Germany's state education ministries to ensure that Jewish life is presented positively in school curricula.