Insiders accuse Deutsche Welle of pro-Israel bias

Senior newsroom figures at Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle are cultivating a culture of fear among journalists who are tasked with reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza, 13 staff members and freelancers currently working for the network – plus a former long-term correspondent – have told Al Jazeera.

They accuse Deutsche Welle of pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian bias, allege that they have heard colleagues make Islamophobic and dehumanising remarks about Palestinians and protesters in the Berlin office with impunity, and have shared with Al Jazeera several internal documents – one of which lists “possible comebacks” for anchors to use during live interviews with “pro-Palestinian voices” who make “controversial statements” – such as accusing Israel of war crimes.

Other documents include a separate style guide specifically for covering Israel and the Palestinian territories, which informs staff that the word “Palestine” cannot be used in coverage “as it has not yet gained the status of a state”.

“For territory, we refer specifically to the West Bank or Gaza, or the Palestinian territories,” the guide states.

A handout from an anti-Semitism awareness training event suggests that “hatred of Jews is expressed using codes such as the ‘Zionists’ or the ‘Israelis’ … Therefore, criticism of Israel can also be a form of Israel-related anti-Semitism.”

A planning document for the war’s anniversary, at a time when at least 42,000 Palestinians, including 17,000 children, had been killed under Israeli bombardment in Gaza, appeared to suggest that Israeli suffering should be prioritised.

“The focus should be on the terrorist attack on Israel, but stories dealing with the war in Gaza can also be published on this day,” it says.

‘Constant sense of fear’

“The sense of pressure was constant,” Martin Gak, who has since left the network, told Al Jazeera.

“There is a constant sense of fear with (senior staff) looking at the things you were writing with enormous care, almost paranoia.”

Gak worked for 10 years at Deutsche Welle as a religious affairs correspondent and senior producer for the political interview show Conflict Zone, which often covers Israel-Palestine.

“From a journalistic point of view, Deutsche Welle fills its mouth with grand concepts like freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience. And it’s clear that this is just being used as mouthwash,” said Gak, who is Argentinean and Jewish.

All interviewees except Gak requested anonymity, fearing reprisals.

While the style guide states that “we do not tolerate the use of racist language towards Palestinians which aim to disparage the Palestinian people”, several sources said staff openly used Islamophobic and anti-Arab slurs in the newsroom.

In one instance, a manager referred to pro-Palestine protesters as “looking Allahu Akbar” – a derogatory use of the Arabic phrase meaning “God is great”, alleged Kate*, a current freelancer with the network.

In another example, an executive producer questioned whether a Palestinian child could have been faking his suffering for the cameras, Andrew* claimed.

When asked about these allegations, a Deutsche Welle spokesperson told Al Jazeera via email that the network does not accept “Islamophobic, racist, dehumanising or discriminatory remarks”, adding that it employs an “anti-discrimination officer who is available for everyone”.

They did not directly answer Al Jazeera’s question on the alleged comment about child crisis actors, but pointed to a previous example of a fact-checking article.

“The team has proven that claims that Palestinian children in Gaza are ‘acting’ are false,” they said.