German Public Broadcaster DW Stung by Antisemitism Scandal as Social Media Posts of Arabic Service Employees Are Exposed

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  2. > Posts by Mahmoud from 2018 demonstrated a fanatical belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories, with one entry claiming that “Jews control the brains of people through art, media and music.”

    Poor Mahmoud. It seems he did not get the message that nowadays you should say “(((they)))”, “globalists” or “the elite” in order to convey antisemitic messages. Worked well for the far-right in dozen countries and is by now so normalized you even have center-right to right politicians state such views openly.

    The original article by the SZ is really good investigative work and raises the question if DW turned a blind eye to these issues. Let’s hope they’ll improve their vetting to prevent a repeat.

  4. Where is the line between legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, on the one hand, and anti-Semitism, on the other hand?

    While there are cases of obvious anti-Semitism making generalized statements about Jews, the accusation of anti-Semitism can be used to discredit legitimate criticism of the State of Israel and the international diaspora supporting its policies. Political debates between different factions can sometimes descend into mudslinging. That is the nature of political debate. Should the Palestinian policies of the State of Israel be exempt from criticism?

  7. It is not surprising that a geopolitical conflict that also entails a religious difference will also express itself in terms of that religious difference. During the [Troubles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles), [anti-catholic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Catholicism#Northern_Ireland) and [anti-protestant](https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/revealed-why-40000-protestants-fled-ireland-four-years-1126728) sentiments were strong and widespread among the corresponding sides of the conflict. Just as anti-semitism is prevalent among certain Arab populations, so is Islamophobia among [certain](https://www.uel.ac.uk/sites/default/files/7673.pdf) Jewish populations. It is inevitable and should only be taken in the right historic-political context.

    In any case, conflating anti-semitism and anti-zionism is disingenuous at best. One is the persecution and discrimination of people solely based on their religion. The other opposes the claim that certain people have the right to move into a foreign land and forcefully displace indigenous populations solely based on their religious identity.

    I can fight for your right to practice your religion without having to buy into the claims of your religion.

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