BUSINESS

Peter Limbourg

Broadcasting Director of Deutsche Welle

When a scandal involving antisemitic social media posts by several of its Arabic-language journalists struck German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) in late 2021, its director, Peter Limbourg, moved to act decisively. Two months later, the journalists were terminated following an internal investigation. “The mere suspicion that there is antisemitism in a German taxpayer-financed institution must be unbearable for Jews in this country and worldwide,” Limbourg said afterwards. “We have to make our position much clearer in the future. Freedom of expression is never a justification for antisemitism, hatred of Israel and denial of the Holocaust.” In a separate blow to antisemitic agitation in the Arabic media, Limbourg also severed ties between DW and Roya TV, a broadcaster in Jordan, over the latter’s inclusion of virulently antisemitic images and slogans in its social media feeds. In Sept. 2022, Limbourg oversaw the introduction of a new code of conduct for DW journalists which requires them to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)