Children & Teens

Germany accepts first 139 refugees from Greece’s burned-out Moria camp A group of children suffering serious health problems and their immediate families arrived in Germany. It was the first resettlement flight after the notorious refugee camp burned down earlier this month.

(Deutsche Welle) The first group of refugees from the razed Moria camp arrived in Germany from Greece on Wednesday. A group of 139 people — unaccompanied children, children suffering from serious health problems and their immediate families — arrived in Hannover, in […]

Children & Teens

Moria migrants: Germany, France will take in 400 children from Greece’s refugee camp Berlin and Paris said they plan to move 400 minors from the Greek migrant camp destroyed in a blaze. Angela Merkel said she hoped other EU nations would assume a 'shared responsibility' and accept some of the minors.

(Deutsche Welle) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to a deal that would allow 400 unaccompanied minors from the Greek migrant camp to move to other parts of the European Union, Merkel confirmed on Thursday. Merkel, whose country […]

Demonstrations

German Foreign Ministry hires Islamist who defends Israel’s destruction 'So she can promote more antisemitic al-Quds marches and justify hatred of the Jewish state.'

(Jerusalem Post) German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Foreign Ministry has been plunged into a devastating new antisemitism scandal for the hiring of a radical Islamist who defends the annual Iranian regime-sponsored rally al-Quds Day calling for the obliteration of Israel. Andreas Görgen, the […]

Academics & Education

German state bans burqas, niqabs in schools Baden-Württemberg will now ban full-face coverings for all school children. State Premier Winfried Kretschmann said burqas and niqabs did not belong in a free society. A similar rule for teachers was already in place.

(Deutsche Welle) The government of the western German state of Baden-Württemberg agreed on Tuesday to ban full-face coverings, often known as burqa or niqab, in schools. The new rule comes as the topic of Muslim face coverings has been hotly debated in […]

Government & Politics

Refugee policy EU’s ‘biggest inadequacy,’ says Germany’s Heiko Maas Germany's foreign minister took aim at the EU's approach to refugees, saying nothing has been solved since the 2015 migrant crisis. He also called again for a scheme to distribute asylum-seekers across the EU.

(Deutsche Welle) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has accused European Union member states of not doing enough to solve the continent’s migrant dilemma. Speaking at an online conference hosted by re:publica and the Media Convention Berlin, Maas said the manner with which […]

Demonstrations

German Jew sues Berlin to stop antisemitic Quds Day rally Iranian regime-sponsored rally attracts neo-Nazis, members of Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

(Jerusalem Post) After the city-state of Berlin declined to take action against an annual Iranian regime-sponsored protest calling for the destruction of Israel, German Jewish retiree Gilbert Kallenborn filed a lawsuit to stop the rally. The Berlin-based B.Z. paper reported on Monday […]

Children & Teens

Germany open to resettling children from Greek refugee camps Germany's government is seeking a 'coalition of the willing' to take in the children across Europe. The EU wants to avoid a repeat [of] the 2015 refugee crisis as thousands of refugees and migrants gather at Greece's border.

(Deutsche Welle) Germany is prepared to take in “an appropriate share” of the neediest refugee children housed in overcrowded Greek migrant camps, German officials said on Monday. The country is set [to] take children in as part of “a coalition of the willing” […]

Demonstrations

Germany: Thousands rally urging government to accept more refugees Berlin has insisted that the EU's 'borders are not open' despite a new push of migrants and refugees at the Turkish-Greek frontier. Up to 5,000 people have gathered in the northern city, chanting 'Hamburg has space.'

(Deutsche Welle) Up to 5,000 people gathered in Hamburg on Saturday in protest of the German government’s handling of the fresh migrant crisis unfolding at the Turkish-Greek border. The rally took place in response to the rush by thousands of … migrants […]

Government & Politics

Israel’s ambassador urges Germany to ban Hezbollah activities German politician Eva Högl said the Hezbollah ban is an 'important building block in the fight against antisemitism.'

(Jerusalem Post) Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff has stepped up his push for the German government to ban activities of the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization in the federal republic. “The decision of the Bundestag, which calls for the prohibition of Hezbollah […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Germany’s Seehofer touts expert panel on Islamophobia after Hanau killings An expert group to tackle Islamophobia in Germany has been floated by Chancellor Angela Merkel's interior minister. The move follows a racist multiple shooting last week and precedes an integration summit in Berlin.

(Deutsche Welle) Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced on Saturday the creation of an “independent expert group on Islamophobia” (Muslimfeindlichkeit), saying it would emulate current ministerial panels on anti-Semitism and antiziganism, meaning hostility toward Jewish and Roma communities respectively. His call follows a charge […]

Mosques

Kurds file criminal complaint against Iran mosque in Germany for terrorism The popular German news and commentary website Tichys Einblick first published the complaint, which was filed with the local prosecutor’s office.

(Jerusalem Post) Ali Ertan Toprak, the chairman of the Kurdish community in Germany, on Tuesday lodged a formal criminal complaint against the Iranian regime-controlled Islamic Center of Hamburg, the owner of the Imam Ali Mosque, for its support of terrorism. According to […]

Government & Politics

Germany: Fewer Islamists pose terror risk The number of Islamists posing a terrorist risk in Germany has decreased, according to figures from Germany's Interior Ministry. One official put this down to increased vigilance following the 2016 Berlin terror attack.

(Deutsche Welle) The threat from potential Islamist terrorists in Germany has decreased from last year, according to data from the German Interior Ministry. A total of 679 Islamic extremists in Germany were considered to pose a terrorist risk at the beginning of November 2019, compared […]

Clerics & Preachers

Founder of Berlin’s liberal mosque honored for inclusive vision Seyran Ates' long fight for women's rights in the Muslim world led her to open a tolerant mosque where non-veiled women could preach and pray alongside men. She has now been honored with the prestigious Urania Medal.

(Deutsche Welle) A lawyer, activist, author and now imam, Seyran Ates has long lent a critical voice to debates about migration, women’s rights and religious freedom in Germany and beyond. Ates co-founded the “liberal” Ibn Ruschd-Goethe Mosque on the third floor of St. John’s Church near […]

News: Europe

Germany detains ‘Islamic State’ returnee deported from Turkey German authorities have detained an Islamist who was expelled with his family from Turkey. Ankara has been deporting individuals with alleged affiliation to the 'Islamic State' terror group to their countries of origin.

(Deutsche Welle) The father of a family of seven, expelled by Turkey on Thursday, was taken into custody on arrival in Germany, said Martin Pallgen, a spokesman for the Berlin state Interior Ministry. A warrant for his arrest is understood not to be […]

Deradicalization

Germany: Don’t panic over ‘Islamic State’ returnees’ arrival Berlin has tried to reassure the public that suspected German Islamic State supporters being deported from Turkey do not pose a security threat. Critics say the government should have brought them back sooner.

(Deutsche Welle) A family of seven German Islamists arrived in Berlin on Thursday after the Turkish Interior Ministry announced earlier this week that it would start deportations of captured “Islamic State” supporters. There are no German arrest warrants for the family of German-Iraqi Kanan B., meaning […]

Government & Politics

Deportation of suspected ‘IS’ fighters forces Germany to take action Turkey will deport 10 men, women and children with suspected ties to 'Islamic State' back to Germany this week. The move is making several countries address how to repatriate suspected terrorists and their families.

(Deutsche Welle) The repatriation of “Islamic State” (IS) deportees  is bound to spark domestic and international debate: Public opinion in Germany is moving against the repatriation of suspected terrorists, and countries around the world continue to shy away from bringing suspected fighters and […]