Deutsche Welle stokes antisemitism, NGO says
German media outlet used term ‘Israel lobbyists’ to describe its critics
ATHENS – The row between the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) and the German news outlet Deutsche Welle widened after the media watchdog organization accused the publicly funded media group of stoking antisemitism.
Deutsche Welle suggested that members of the American nonprofit are “Israel lobbyists” after the group compelled DW to correct a significant error in an article that falsely stated 600,000 Israeli settlers reside in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. CAMERA fired back at DW.
“We’re appalled for a few reasons,” CAMERA’s Jonah Cohen told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. “One, we simply pointed out a factual error in their reporting, and their response has been to attack us for it. Two, we’re not a lobby, which would have taken almost no research to discover. And, three, the phrase ‘Israel Lobbyists’ has antisemitic connotations in German discourse. Only Israel is singled out as having lobbyists.”
There are no Israeli settlers living in Gaza. Hamas, however, has taken two mentally challenged Israelis hostage and is refusing them Red Cross access.
Christoph Jumpelt, a spokesman for DW, told the Post on Tuesday: “We generally comment on specific questions regarding our reporting,” adding that he “flatly rejects the accusation.” It is unclear what accusation he meant, but it is believed to be the charge of antisemitism leveled by CAMERA.
Jumpelt said that, “concerning the correction of a translation error, I would like to say that the correction was made at the time when some publications claimed that they had detected this mistake.”
Ines Pohl, the editor-in-chief of DW, tweeted on Thursday that, “Because of a translation error, the DW has for days been exposed to massive criticism of so-called Israel lobbyists. We strongly reject this accusation. Nevertheless, the mistake should not have happened – and we apologize for that.”
The Post reported on the error in November. Pohl and Jumpelt declined to say who the “so-called Israel lobbyists” are, and who wrote the correction article accusing its critics of being “Israel lobbyists.” Pohl’s tweet electrified Twitter, with critics like the prominent German journalist Mirjam Fischer asking Pohl about her use of “Israel lobbyists.”
Vijeta Uniyal, an analyst of DW reporting on Israel who is widely considered one of the leading experts on Israel-India relations, told the Post: “It is disingenuous of Deutsche Welle to paint this as an isolated incident. In recent months alone, the broadcaster has been called out multiple times for its apparent antisemitic coverage. The broadcaster has repeatedly resorted to antisemitic tropes and dog whistles to slander independent journalists and those pointing out its bias.”
He added that “Deutsche Welle’s denying antisemitism in its coverage – by putting out a statement laced with antisemitic language – says everything you need to know about this German state broadcaster.”
Pohl’s management of DW has faced criticism from German Jews for publishing an allegedly antisemitic article in 2018. The media company frequently publishes articles sympathetic to the terror organization Hezbollah, according to critics.