jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

I think it presents a very distorted picture. It’s very unsophisticated, flat. There are some things, Arte, for
example, Arte often has very good reports. It’s worth watching Arte. It’s very difficult to find a differentiated
report; you can only find that in the Internet. Then you just leave the German media very quickly. There
you’re constantly running into the same prejudices, the same pictures. The leftist coverage, if there is leftwing
media and right-wing media, then they use the exact same arguments. It’s crude and shocking, and I
think it’s increasing.
● The stereotype about a military state?
That’s one thing and then the idea that what the Jews are doing to the Palestinians is just as bad as what the
Germans did to the Jews.
● That’s an old left-wing stereotype.
Exactly. And it’s repeated again and again.
● And you experience this in the mainstream media?
Yes. That’s why I thought this statement from Angela Merkel was very impressive. The fact that she clearly
took up the side of Israel in the last conflict, and this was held against her, also from members of her own
party, from many people all over Germany, but she really showed backbone. I thought that was fantastic.
Also this discussion about the pope’s decision.
● We corresponded about that.
I thought she was fantastic there.
● What do you think of the existing Jewish media in Germany?
That’s difficult. I’m sad that the Jüdische Zeitung closed. Although I had my problems with it. I subscribed,
because it had a lot of information I wanted, but there were also articles where I thought, no, I can’t get
behind that.
● In what section?
Mostly the political section.
● Middle East?
Yes. I thought this was too one-dimensional and flat. I was annoyed, but I never wrote a letter to the editor.
Wait, yes, once I did.
● About the Middle East coverage?
No, it was about the pope. They printed it as well.
● What do you think about the future perspectives of Jewish media in Germany? Is there enough pluralism,
and how could the structures even be optimized?
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