Döpfner, who is also the controlling shareholder of the German media giant, reflected on the failure of the international response to the attacks.
Despite what he described as the clear distinction between perpetrators and victims on October 7, he said the aftermath had produced not a surge of solidarity with Jews, but a wave of hostility.
“After October 7, where the question of who started it, who was the perpetrator and who was the victim, was so obvious, that did not create a global wave of solidarity, but a wave of new antisemitism,” he said.
“That goes way beyond Jewish life. It affects us all. Jews are the first victims in an open society model.”
His comments drew rapturous applause from the several hundred audience members attending the conference at the vast Olympia venue in Hammersmith.
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[Missing Credit](The JC)
Axel Springer has one of the most explicit pro-Jewish and pro-Zionist policies of any major Western media company. Its corporate constitution, known as the Essentials, includes a formal commitment to “support the right of existence of the State of Israel and oppose all forms of antisemitism”.
Under Döpfner, the company has repeatedly emphasised that these principles are non-negotiable. In 2026, he reportedly told staff that employees who fundamentally disagreed with the company's support for Israel's right to exist were likely not a good fit for the organisation.
Other principles to which the company’s employees must assent include support for free-market principles, free speech, the rule of law and democracy, and the rejection of religious discrimination and all forms of extremism.
The German media executive on Wednesday also recommended to conference attendees that they visit the Lost Shtetl Museum in Lithuania, which he did recently, and similar places around the world where one can engage more deeply with Jewish history and civilisation.
“There are so many places on Earth and resources, museums and such, [where one can learn] about Jewish life and Jewish contributions to civilisation,” he said.
(L to R) Berlin Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Doepfner, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President of the Central Council of Jews In Germany Josef Schuster attend the funeral of Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlaender in Berlin, May 15, 2025 (Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)Getty Images
Elsewhere in his address, Döpfner argued that Western democracies required stronger leadership to confront the challenges posed by authoritarian powers, including China and Russia.
“It sometimes looks more likely that we are at the beginning of the end of the open society model,” he said, warning that democratic nations risked falling behind more decisive authoritarian rivals.
