New York, New York, May 28, 1999 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today lauded the passage of sweeping changes in Germany’s immigration law, saying the easing of the nation’s once rigorous naturalization requirements "will provide a climate for diversity and acceptance.

"It is encouraging to see pluralism taking root in a society that, despite its strong democracy, had for decades maintained an unyielding policy of citizenship by blood or descent only," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The easing of immigration requirements is especially significant in light of Germany’s history of the Holocaust and persecution of Jews and other minority groups. The new law will provide a climate for diversity and acceptance in a nation with an onerous legacy of xenophobia, where the concept of `us versus them’ will be replaced by a principle of citizenship for all."

The new law reduces the waiting period for adults to become eligible for naturalization – from 15 to 8 years – and enables children born in Germany of immigrant parents to maintain dual citizenship until age 23, when they must decide their permanent citizenship. The law as previously written was based on ancestry, making it far more difficult to become a naturalized German citizen, even after many years of residence. Pressure to change the law came as waves of Turkish and other immigrants, often referred to as "guest-workers," poured into Germany in recent years. These included asylum seekers from Eastern Europe, many of them Russian Jews. Today, immigrants account for approximately 10 percent – or 7 million – of the reunified nation’s population of 80 million people.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.