closeicon
World

Seven German TV journalists fired over claims of Jew hate

A damning report revealed disturbing statements by staff at DW

articlemain

A picture shows the logo of German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) on a wall at their head office in Bonn, western Germany, on February 8, 2022. - Russia closed the Moscow bureau of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and revoking staff accreditations in Russia on February 3, in response to Berlin's ban on the German-language channel of Russian state TV network RT. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP) (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

Seven journalists have been fired by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) over alleged antisemitism.

A damning report had revealed disturbing statements by staff at DW, which reaches an international audience through channels broadcast in English, Arabic and other languages.  
wo journalists were sacked last week after the external investigation found that they had made antisemitic statements on private social media in 2014. A week earlier, a further five journalists had been fired.

One was Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Farah Maraqa, who has written columns for online pan-Arab newspaper Rai al-Youm. 

Media monitoring organisation CAMERA has found a catalogue of statements made by Ms Maraqa. In one piece, in reference to the firing of rockets towards Tel Aviv, she commented: “The sound of the resistance’s rockets falling in the heart of Tel Aviv was once again music to our ears.”

In another comment from December 2015 unearthed by Algemeiner, she wrote: “If the Islamic State were to fight for liberation in Palestine… and if they throw the Israelis out of the Holy Land, then I will join their ranks.”

DW also produced the talk-show Jaafar Talk, which routinely described Israel as the “Israeli occupation”, as did DW’s Jordanian partner station, Roya TV. DW commissioned an investigation by the Mansour Initiative for Democracy Promotion and Extremism (MIND Prevention) to examine whether staff have followed DW’s “clear commitment to Israel’s right to exist and a clear stance against antisemitism”.

Reporting its findings, MIND Prevention’s founder Ahmad Mansour recommended that DW create “structures for regular training courses on the subject of antisemitism”. 

DW has said it now had a 10-point action plan in response to the report.

A spokesman for DW declined to comment when approached by the JC.

Share via

Want more from the JC?

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Want more from
the JC?

To continue reading, we just
need a few details...

Get the best news and views from across the Jewish world Get subscriber-only offers from our partners Subscribe to get access to our e-paper and archive