Politico, No Criticism of Israel: Palestine and Censorship

posted on: Nov 10, 2021

By: Omar Mansour / Arab America Contributing Writer

The muzzling of the global news media’s coverage of Palestine is hardly new, and censors continue to behave more boldly as they fight back against what is a clear rise in global solidarity with Palestine. This most recent news is no different. Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate has purchased the Washington-based Politico franchise for more than $1 billion, warning the staff that they must abide by the parent company’s commitment to Israel or else find a new job. 

This is what was told to hundreds of Politico staff, by Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of the Berlin-based company, Axel Springer, which said in August that it was buying the American news agency for more than $1 billion.

Döpfner, who has previously said that support for Israel is “a German duty,” told staff at Politico that Axel Springer’s commitment to Israel is like “a constitution” and if they did not like it, they should not work for the firm.

However, US staffers will not be required to sign a written commitment to these principles, as employees in Germany must.

Staff is also expected to shun what Döpfner called activist journalism, which he said was helping polarize the United States and other countries.

In May, during the latest assault on Gaza by Israel, the company’s headquarters raised an Israeli flag as a show of support. In June, Matthias Dopfner, CEO of the German company, reportedly said that any employees disgruntled by the move should leave the company.

“I think, and I’m being very frank with you, a person who has an issue with an Israeli flag being raised for one week here, after antisemitic demonstrations, should look for a new job,” he was quoted as saying by Israel Hayom.

To get a feel for the German company now emerging as a major player in American, and global, media, it’s important to understand the man for whom it was named, a towering figure in postwar media.

Axel Springer, named after the journalist who founded it in the 1940s and has long been a staunch supporter of Israel. On its website, the second of the company’s five core principles reads, “We support the Jewish people and the right of existence of the State of Israel.

He was a fierce anti-Communist and supporter of Israel, and his papers were hostile to the student leftists of the 1960s and 1970s.

Why is this Surprising?

Why is this purchase of Politico and censorship of it so shocking, apart from the obvious reasons? Well, Politico was founded ahead of the 2008 U.S. presidential elections by defectors from the Washington Post with an aim to cover Washington and politics with the pace, analysis, and rigor of sports journalism. The intention of the franchise was specifically to NOT fall in line with the status quo – although, in the grand scheme of things, they always did.

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