BERLIN

– A sharp increase has been registered in the number of Israelis who choose to give up their Israeli citizenship in order to be granted German nationality. While only 30 people contacted the Israeli embassy in Berlin with a request to concede their nationality last year, 150 have already done so in 2007.

According to German law, applicants who wish to acquire German citizenship must give up their former nationality, except in cases of Jews who were persecuted by the Nazis, or of children of mixed couples in which one of the parents is German and the other is not.

The German authorities easily grant unlimited residency permits to Israeli immigrants who are registered as members of one of the Jewish communities in the country or who are married to German nationals. Permit holders enjoy most of the rights given to citizens, save for the right to vote in elections, or to be elected.

A significant part of the Israelis who have give up their citizenship are immigrants from the former Soviet Union who moved to Germany.