An external investigation into Deutsche Welle’s Arabic department ran for weeks. There are allegations of anti-Semitism against some employees. The broadcaster is now drawing the first conclusions.
Deutsche Welle investigates the allegations of anti-Semitism and draws conclusions.
(dpa) Following allegations of anti-Semitism against employees of Deutsche Welle (DW), the German international broadcaster has initiated separation proceedings in five cases. That’s what DW director Peter Limbourg said in a press conference on Monday. No information was given about the individual employees. The broadcaster also wants to set a definition of anti-Semitism and make it mandatory internally. This includes the recognition of Israel’s right to exist and the rejection of denial and trivialization of the Holocaust.
In the past few weeks, an external investigation initiated by the broadcaster has been underway against some employees of the Arabic editorial team and freelance DW employees abroad. The whole thing was a result of allegations of anti-Semitism that had become public through a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung at the end of November. More press reports followed. The employees were released for the time of the audit.
omissions and mistakes
Former Federal Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and psychologist Ahmad Mansour presented the results of their external examination on Monday. They emphasized that it was a case of isolated misconduct. A structural anti-Semitism in the Arabic editorial team was not found.
In addition to the five separation procedures, Deutsche Welle is investigating eleven other suspected cases, as Limbourg explained. In addition to eight suspected cases that arose from the test, three other cases were discovered in the course of DW’s own investigations in the past few weeks. One of these three people is no longer employed by DW.
At the beginning of his remarks, Limbourg emphasized: “I and the management are sincerely sorry that we are in this situation. The mere suspicion that there is anti-Semitism in a German tax-financed institution must be unbearable for Jews in this country and worldwide.” He spoke of omissions and mistakes.
There was one case, for example, in which one had to admit that the allegation of an anti-Semitic statement should have been investigated more consistently. In the case that became known to the broadcaster, an immediate separation should actually have been initiated.
More serious cases
Mansour explained the results of the audit: The suspension of five employees was justified. There are also eight other cases, some with serious anti-Semitic statements, which have been forwarded to Deutsche Welle so that they can deal with each other. At the same time, Mansour made it clear that there were also isolated errors in the reporting, but no structural anti-Semitism could be identified.
Mansour also addressed the Arabic editorial team as a whole. One got the impression that this was “deeply divided”. A fresh start and restructuring are necessary. If that doesn’t happen, there is a great concern that something new could happen in a few months that could damage Deutsche Welle’s reputation. A lot has to be done to end the split in an editorial office with more than 200 employees. The test report revealed an atmosphere of distrust.
Intendant Limbourg also said in the interview that the head of the Arabic editorial team offered to give up his managerial position last week. The offer was accepted. Thank him for his work.
According to Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the test started on December 17 with a total of 32 interviews by the end of January. That was part of the staff. Also, random distribution partners of Deutsche Welle – i.e. partner stations in the region of the Arabic editorial office – were checked. She emphasized that DW must continue to deal with it intensively. Weeks ago, press reports were also critical of DW partners. The foreign broadcaster then suspended its cooperation with the Jordanian broadcaster Roya TV. The magazine “Vice” had previously reported on the station.
The audit report says: “We recommend entering into dialogue and only entering into cooperation again under the condition that the anti-Semitic caricatures are deleted and that reporting is contractually assured that no more anti-Semitic content will be conveyed in the future.” The audit report also dealt with other partner broadcasters. The recommendations varied and went as far as ending the collaboration.
implement recommendations
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, explained the results of the test at Deutsche Welle: “The broadcaster should now quickly implement the recommendations of the experts. In three months, Deutsche Welle should present an initial report that provides information on the measures taken.”
The Minister of State for Culture and Media, Claudia Roth, explained: “I would like to take this opportunity to express my respect for the work of the journalists who uncovered these abuses.” Roth, who is also a member of the foreign broadcaster’s Broadcasting Council supervisory body, emphasized that she had pointed out that it was a central task of the directorship and management of DW, in the light of the report presented, to provide the supervisory bodies with suitable structural measures for distribution, programming and the academy and propose human resource management.