Five fired over antisemitism by German public broadcaster
The German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle has fired five employees – including four from its Arabic desk – and has dropped a number of freelancers following an audit on antisemitism.
The audit was prepared by former Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, integration expert Ahmad Mansour, and Beatrice Mansour, an expert on the prevention of radicalisation.
Although the audit found no systemic problem, it led to the firings. Another eight cases are still under investigation.
According to the Bild newspaper, one of the fired journalists had described Israel as a “cancer that should be cut out”. Another wrote in a 2018 essay that a “Jewish lobby controls many German institutions” to prevent criticism of Israel.
In 2019, a freelancer and trainer at the Deutsche Welle Academy compared Jews to “ants” that had invaded “through our weak points”.
The audit began last year, seeking online postings and information on those implicated in allegations of antisemitism, including , including “distributors and partners of Deutsche Welle.”
According to the audit, the staff in question had not merely engaged in criticism of Israel, which is protected free speech, but had used “classic antisemitic imagery up to and including Holocaust denial.”
The Director General of Deutsche Welle, Peter Limbourg, apologised this week and announced that a ten-point “code of ethics” would be established to prevent such problems in the future. It will reportedly include explanations of antisemitism, and the difference between legitimate criticism of Israel and calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. Deutsche Welle also announced plans to strengthen its Israel desk.
The country’s main Jewish umbrella group, the Central Council of Jews in Germany (CCJ), welcomed Deutsche Welle’s actions. “There must not be taxpayer-financed Israel-hatred and antisemitism in the media,” declared CCJ president Josef Schuster.
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