>A few days ago, the Süddeutsche Zeitung revealed an anti-Semitism scandal at Deutsche Welle. The tax-funded foreign broadcaster broadcasts worldwide in 30 languages and is part of the German public broadcaster ARD; it received 390 million euros from the Bundestag for this year.
High-ranking employees and editors of DW’s Arabic editorial team are said to have made anti-Semitic comments in public. One editor allegedly called the Holocaust an “artificial product” on Facebook, according to Süddeutsche research. According to SZ research, a Deutsche Welle bureau chief had attracted attention with the statement that “everyone who has anything to do with the Israelis” is a “collaborator” and that “every recruit in the ranks of their army” is a traitor and should be executed. According to SZ research, a Deutsche Welle academy trainer in Beirut had written on Twitter: “The Holocaust is a lie.” Deutsche Welle had ignored references to this.After the publications, Deutsche Welle announced an external investigation, and the accused employees were released for the period of the investigation. In a statement, the station’s administrative and broadcasting council clarified that Deutsche Welle is “unequivocally committed to Israel’s right to exist” and that DW’s management has obligated all of its employees to oppose anti-Semitism “which is also expressed in the form of hatred of Israel.” But how credible is this commitment? Does the station just have a problem with a few employees, or is the problem bigger?
VICE research reveals that Deutsche Welle in Jordan cooperates closely with a station that has been spreading propaganda against Israel for years. The Israel-hatred of Roya TV, with which DW produces the popular Jaafar Talk format, for example, even goes so far as to make it difficult to call Israel by its name there. The country is consistently called “Israeli Occupation.” Roya TV reports one-sidedly on anti-Israel demonstrations protesting reconciliation with Israel.
On Instagram, Roya calls Israeli citizens who die in rocket attacks by the terrorist organization Hamas “settlers of the Israeli occupation,” thus indirectly legitimizing their deaths. Victims on the Palestinian side, on the other hand, are referred to as “martyrs.” The Israeli army, the Israel Defense Force, is called only “Israel Occupation Force” on Roya TV. On Instagram, Roya TV repeatedly shares anti-Semitic caricatures of maps on which Israel is erased (screenshots are available to VICE).All these are not isolated slips by isolated employees, but it has a system. In the social media, where Roya TV is very active, this can be traced back to years. Why does Deutsche Welle ignore this?
Last year, the director of Deutsche Welle, Peter Limbourg, even traveled to Jordan to meet Roya boss Fares Sayegh. An expansion of the cooperation was solemnly agreed upon. Deutsche Welle published photos of the contract signing. In May 2020, Limbourg presented the Royas chief with a Freedom of Speech Award. Does the anti-Israel line of broadcasting correspond to Limbourg’s understanding of freedom of speech?We sent Deutsche Welle questions about the cooperation with Roya TV, addressed to the director and editor-in-chief. How much money does Deutsche Welle pay to Roya TV? How does the commitment to Israel fit in with a station that doesn’t even want to mention Israel by name? What is the future of the cooperation? What consequences are planned?
A press spokeswoman of Deutsche Welle answers that the “distribution and program managers” would “definitely not consider Roya TV hostile to Israel”. Of course, before starting a cooperation with media providers, they check their orientation and culture. Partnerships with stations that “clearly represent anti-Semitic positions or show anti-Semitic tendencies” are excluded on principle. In the negotiations, there was no willingness to compromise in favor of a higher Reich value. They merely reflected “the reality faced by all media outlets that have partner stations in the MENA region.”
Roya TV is a Christian-liberal media company. The station is committed to the rights of religious minorities and takes a clear stand against radicalization. Roya TV has always respected DW’s editorial line in co-productions and program takeovers. Roya head Sayegh was honored for his critical Corona reporting. How much taxpayer money Roya TV receives through Deutsche Welle, we do not want to answer.
Kevin Kühnert, deputy head of the SPD, on the other hand, is critical of the cooperation when asked by VICE, calling for an end to the partnership. “The existence and security of Israel are part of Germany’s reason of state. And even if a medium like Deutsche Welle must be free in its reporting, one can expect that this central principle of our country is also respected by an institution that is financed with tax money. I think it would be appropriate for Deutsche Welle to draw consequences here and end the cooperation. An internal review of comparable partnerships also seems appropriate.”
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, also criticizes Deutsche Welle. When asked by VICE, she says: “If the latest reports about Deutsche Welle are true, then this is a scandal that must not remain without consequences. DW is the face of our country abroad; the fact that its employees and partners were apparently able to spread hatred against Jews and Israel undisturbed and were still honored with awards must shame all those responsible. If the broadcaster does not take swift action itself, politicians must take appropriate measures to end this state of affairs.”
Deutsche Welle continues to seem to see no problem in the unusual cooperation. How it can describe a station that does not even want to call Israel by its name and indirectly legitimizes the deaths of Israeli citizens as “definitely not hostile to Israel” probably remains its secret for the time being.
I didn’t read because I have serious doubts about vice’s ideological integrity/neutrality. Maybe they’re righ but when you look for hate and oppression everywhere, you find it.
None of the examples in the article are particularly out of the ordinary. In fact they are very ordinary in Arab media, it’s hardly a secret. You’d have to be incredibly naive to be surprised at the level of propaganda that many middle-eastern media organisations deploy.
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>A few days ago, the Süddeutsche Zeitung revealed an anti-Semitism scandal at Deutsche Welle. The tax-funded foreign broadcaster broadcasts worldwide in 30 languages and is part of the German public broadcaster ARD; it received 390 million euros from the Bundestag for this year.
High-ranking employees and editors of DW’s Arabic editorial team are said to have made anti-Semitic comments in public. One editor allegedly called the Holocaust an “artificial product” on Facebook, according to Süddeutsche research. According to SZ research, a Deutsche Welle bureau chief had attracted attention with the statement that “everyone who has anything to do with the Israelis” is a “collaborator” and that “every recruit in the ranks of their army” is a traitor and should be executed. According to SZ research, a Deutsche Welle academy trainer in Beirut had written on Twitter: “The Holocaust is a lie.” Deutsche Welle had ignored references to this.After the publications, Deutsche Welle announced an external investigation, and the accused employees were released for the period of the investigation. In a statement, the station’s administrative and broadcasting council clarified that Deutsche Welle is “unequivocally committed to Israel’s right to exist” and that DW’s management has obligated all of its employees to oppose anti-Semitism “which is also expressed in the form of hatred of Israel.” But how credible is this commitment? Does the station just have a problem with a few employees, or is the problem bigger?
VICE research reveals that Deutsche Welle in Jordan cooperates closely with a station that has been spreading propaganda against Israel for years. The Israel-hatred of Roya TV, with which DW produces the popular Jaafar Talk format, for example, even goes so far as to make it difficult to call Israel by its name there. The country is consistently called “Israeli Occupation.” Roya TV reports one-sidedly on anti-Israel demonstrations protesting reconciliation with Israel.
On Instagram, Roya calls Israeli citizens who die in rocket attacks by the terrorist organization Hamas “settlers of the Israeli occupation,” thus indirectly legitimizing their deaths. Victims on the Palestinian side, on the other hand, are referred to as “martyrs.” The Israeli army, the Israel Defense Force, is called only “Israel Occupation Force” on Roya TV. On Instagram, Roya TV repeatedly shares anti-Semitic caricatures of maps on which Israel is erased (screenshots are available to VICE).All these are not isolated slips by isolated employees, but it has a system. In the social media, where Roya TV is very active, this can be traced back to years. Why does Deutsche Welle ignore this?
Last year, the director of Deutsche Welle, Peter Limbourg, even traveled to Jordan to meet Roya boss Fares Sayegh. An expansion of the cooperation was solemnly agreed upon. Deutsche Welle published photos of the contract signing. In May 2020, Limbourg presented the Royas chief with a Freedom of Speech Award. Does the anti-Israel line of broadcasting correspond to Limbourg’s understanding of freedom of speech?We sent Deutsche Welle questions about the cooperation with Roya TV, addressed to the director and editor-in-chief. How much money does Deutsche Welle pay to Roya TV? How does the commitment to Israel fit in with a station that doesn’t even want to mention Israel by name? What is the future of the cooperation? What consequences are planned?
A press spokeswoman of Deutsche Welle answers that the “distribution and program managers” would “definitely not consider Roya TV hostile to Israel”. Of course, before starting a cooperation with media providers, they check their orientation and culture. Partnerships with stations that “clearly represent anti-Semitic positions or show anti-Semitic tendencies” are excluded on principle. In the negotiations, there was no willingness to compromise in favor of a higher Reich value. They merely reflected “the reality faced by all media outlets that have partner stations in the MENA region.”
Roya TV is a Christian-liberal media company. The station is committed to the rights of religious minorities and takes a clear stand against radicalization. Roya TV has always respected DW’s editorial line in co-productions and program takeovers. Roya head Sayegh was honored for his critical Corona reporting. How much taxpayer money Roya TV receives through Deutsche Welle, we do not want to answer.
Kevin Kühnert, deputy head of the SPD, on the other hand, is critical of the cooperation when asked by VICE, calling for an end to the partnership. “The existence and security of Israel are part of Germany’s reason of state. And even if a medium like Deutsche Welle must be free in its reporting, one can expect that this central principle of our country is also respected by an institution that is financed with tax money. I think it would be appropriate for Deutsche Welle to draw consequences here and end the cooperation. An internal review of comparable partnerships also seems appropriate.”
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, also criticizes Deutsche Welle. When asked by VICE, she says: “If the latest reports about Deutsche Welle are true, then this is a scandal that must not remain without consequences. DW is the face of our country abroad; the fact that its employees and partners were apparently able to spread hatred against Jews and Israel undisturbed and were still honored with awards must shame all those responsible. If the broadcaster does not take swift action itself, politicians must take appropriate measures to end this state of affairs.”
Deutsche Welle continues to seem to see no problem in the unusual cooperation. How it can describe a station that does not even want to call Israel by its name and indirectly legitimizes the deaths of Israeli citizens as “definitely not hostile to Israel” probably remains its secret for the time being.
*** Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***
I didn’t read because I have serious doubts about vice’s ideological integrity/neutrality. Maybe they’re righ but when you look for hate and oppression everywhere, you find it.
None of the examples in the article are particularly out of the ordinary. In fact they are very ordinary in Arab media, it’s hardly a secret. You’d have to be incredibly naive to be surprised at the level of propaganda that many middle-eastern media organisations deploy.