The German public broadcasting station Deutsche Welle decided today (Monday) to oblige all its employees to declare that they support Israel's right to exist.
The station will include this stipulation in the code of ethics that the employees sign, and anyone who refuses to do so will not be able to work there.
The decision to change the code of ethics of the station, which operates television, radio and internet broadcasts, was made after seven employees from Deutsche Welle's Arabic media channels were fired following anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic comments.
Some of the fired employees started legal proceedings against the station, and therefore, in order to strengthen its legal position in similar cases that may develop in the future, it was decided to include in its code of ethics the commitment to support Israel's right to exist.
"Germany's historical responsibility for the Holocaust is also a reason for our support for the right of the State of Israel to exist," reads the new section inserted into the code of ethics.
It also states that "discrimination of any kind, such as sexism, racism or anti-Semitism... may lead to consequences related to employment laws, including dismissal."
Demonstration of Israeli support in Germany (archive), photo: I.P
Deutsche Welle is not the first media outlet in Germany to pledge to support Israel's right to exist.
The media conglomerate "Axel Springer", which, among other things, publishes the daily newspaper "Bild", which has the largest circulation in Europe, requires all journalists employed by it to "support the Jewish people and the right to exist of the State of Israel".
About five years ago, Germany accepted the definition of anti-Semitism established by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, according to which denying the right of the State of Israel to exist is considered anti-Semitism.
On top of that, Holocaust denial and spreading neo-Nazi propaganda are criminal offenses in Germany, and law enforcement authorities even prohibit calls for the destruction of Israel at demonstrations, and confiscate propaganda materials that call for it.
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