We have sent the following letter to the television council (Fernsehrat) of Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Dear Sir or Madam,
we hereby lodge a programme complaint against the above-mentioned edition of the cultural magazine “Aspekte”.
The programme deals with the question of the state of freedom of opinion in Germany, and thus with a central fundamental right of our free and democratic basic order. Precisely for this reason, particularly high requirements must be placed on its journalistic diligence, transparency, balance and the contextualisation of its interlocutors.
In our view the programme does not meet these requirements, in particular in the thematic complex of the Middle East and cultural debates. It relies on an inadequate contextualisation of selected interlocutors and leaves essential biographical, political and ideological backgrounds out of consideration. As a result, the audience lacked decisive contextual information in order to be able to assess the statements and their public classification appropriately.
In our view this constitutes a breach of the journalistic duty of care as well as of the requirement of factual and balanced reporting in accordance with the programme principles of ZDF.
1. Hüseyin Doğru (min. 00:57- 07:56)
Hüseyin Doğru is predominantly portrayed as someone affected by state measures. Essential publicly available information about his extremist positions and publications, however, remains unmentioned. This includes, among other things, the dissemination of antisemitic or anti-Israel narratives, the use of the Hamas symbol of the red triangle, the dissemination of PFLP material as well as his participation in a public smear campaign against the journalist Nicolas Potter. (Annexes 1-7) This information is essential for the classification of the EU sanctions imposed on him. The programme largely presents the sanctions as an encroachment on freedom of opinion, but hardly explains the reasons cited by the EU or the protected interests behind them. Likewise, there is no contextualisation of the rise in antisemitic incidents since 7 October 2023 and of the significance of corresponding disinformation and hate campaigns for Jewish life in Germany.
In addition, neither legal experts nor supporters of the sanctions are given a voice. This creates the impression that state measures are exclusively an expression of political censorship.
In contrast to Benjamin “Ben” Berndt, who later in the programme, at minute 36:18, is rightly questioned very critically by the journalist Katty Salié, these critical follow-up questions are completely absent in the case of Hüseyin Doğru. This gives rise to doubts about the balance of the item.
2. Adania Shibli (from min. 20:43)
The presentation of the debate about Adania Shibli and the Frankfurter Buchmesse also remains incomplete. Her participation in a call to boycott Israel is not mentioned, nor is the public debate about her closeness to the BDS movement. (Annex 8) Since the Deutscher Bundestag stated in its resolution of 17 May 2019 that the patterns of argument and the methods of the BDS movement are antisemitic, this information is relevant for an understanding of the controversy. (Annex 9) It should likewise have been explained that the award ceremony was postponed after the Hamas massacre of 7 October 2023 and that the novel was the subject of antisemitic debates. Without this context the matter appears in abbreviated form as a case of political censorship. (Annexes 10-11).
In addition, the statement made in the item from min. 20:30 that the German cultural sector follows the raison d’état is entirely questionable. Antisemitism scandals, calls close to BDS and anti-Israel boycott initiatives are the order of the day in the German cultural scene (Annexes 12 and 13). How the item arrives at the aforementioned assessment is unlikely to be comprehensible to anyone familiar with the scene, and even less so to those unfamiliar with it, and can only be explained by incomplete or unbalanced journalistic work.
3. Deborah Feldman and Nirit Sommerfeld (min. 21:49 -23:05)
Deborah Feldman and Nirit Sommerfeld are presented as voices in the debate without their public political positioning being adequately contextualised. Both have for years commented regularly on Israel, antisemitism, German culture of remembrance and raison d’état. Several of their public statements were the subject of controversial debates about antisemitism. (Annexes 14 and 15). These backgrounds are not explained. At the same time it remains unmentioned that within Jewish communities there are very different views on these topics, especially as both represent minority opinions within the Jewish community. Since exclusively two Jewish voices arguing along similar lines are presented, without making this plurality apparent or including further Jewish perspectives, the impression may arise among the audience that their positions are representative.
4. Archive of Silence (from min. 23:24)
The project Archive of Silence is cited as a source for 249 documented cases of exclusion, censorship or cancellation, without its working method or its character being contextualised in any detail. It is an activist documentation project from the extremist anti-Israel scene with its own political objective, and not a neutral scholarly documentation. Neither the selection criteria nor the methodology or possible controversies are explained. As a result, the figure mentioned acquires an evidential weight that is not adequately contextualised in journalistic terms. Journalistically it would have been more appropriate to present exemplary cases with their respective backgrounds instead of letting the total figure speak for itself (Annexes 16 and 17). Moreover, the legitimisation of a portal from an extremist scene, which is in parts monitored by the Verfassungsschutz, without any critical contextualisation whatsoever is problematic in the highest degree.
5. Heart of Gaza (from min. 21:07)
The programme mentions the cancellation of the exhibition, but explains the reasons for it only inadequately. The controversies about political accompanying texts, the use of the contested term “genocide” with regard to Gaza, the criticism from Jewish organisations as well as the reasons given by the organisers are not presented. This creates the one-sided impression that the cancellation was exclusively an expression of political censorship (Annexes 18 and 19)
6. Fundamental deficits of the reporting
Beyond the individual examples, the programme in our view displays several structural deficits:
- The term “censorship” is not clearly distinguished from state prior censorship within the meaning of the Grundgesetz or from decisions of private organisers.
- Different levels of freedom of opinion – state interventions, social criticism, funding decisions and disinvitations – are not sufficiently distinguished from one another.
- The perspectives of Jewish organisations, antisemitism commissioners or academic experts are largely absent.
Conclusion
The programme deals with restrictions on freedom of opinion in the Israel-Gaza context predominantly from the perspective of those affected. Political backgrounds, institutional justifications, opposing positions and relevant controversies, by contrast, are frequently not presented at all or only inadequately.
This can create the impression among the audience that state or institutional measures serve predominantly to suppress legitimate expressions of opinion, without their respective justification being made adequately comprehensible.
We therefore ask the Fernsehrat to examine,
- whether extremist and activist backgrounds of the interlocutors were made sufficiently transparent,
- whether controversial matters were contextualised in a journalistically appropriate manner,
- whether the selection of perspectives meets the requirements of balance and diversity of opinion,
- and whether the programme as a whole complies with the programme principles of ZDF.
Yours sincerely
Elio Adler
-Chairman of the Board-List of annexes:
Annex 1
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDrqsE8toA4/
Annex 2
Instagram post of 17.05.2025 – glorification of the PFLP terrorist Georges. Abdallah https://www.instagram.com/p/DMN__cDtIXJ/?img_index=1
Annex 3
Instagram post of 15.05.2025 – map without Israel. https://www.instagram.com/p/DYWlGxGMS8d/
Annex 4
Instagram post of 01.05.2025 – depiction of the terrorist organisation PFLP, which is banned in Germany. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJG2uaCsk6K/?img_index=1
Annex 5
In the Instagram post of 28.11.2023 he describes Israeli hostages as “prisoners” and Palestinian prisoners (convicted offenders) as “hostages”. https://www.instagram.com/p/C0NH6zPLh_Z/
Annex 6
Here Dogru says that he was sanctioned because he reported on the genocide in Israel. https://www.instagram.com/p/DWrPmM3DIXf/
Annex 7
Instagram post of 8.6. Use of the red triangle. https://www.instagram.com/p/DKpBfz5tE3D/
Annex 8
Article in Die Zeit on the debate about Adania Shibli and her support for BDS. https://www.zeit.de/kultur/literatur/2023-10/adania-shibli-frankfurter-buchmesse-literatur-preis-palaestina
Annex 9
Resolution of the Deutscher Bundestag of 17.05.2019 on the BDS movement. https://www.bundestag.de/webarchiv/textarchiv/2019/kw20-de-bds-642892
Annex 10
Article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on the debate about „Eine Nebensache“.
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/adania-shibli-eine-nebensache-roman-literatur-nahostkonflikt-antisemitismus-1.6287219?reduced=true
Annex 11
Article in the Tagesspiegel on the debate about Adania Shibli.
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/debatte-um-adania-shibli-die-literatur-die-boykotte-und-die-gewalt-des-realen-10653928.html
Annex 12
Report by the Tagesthemen on antisemitism in the cultural sector.
https://www.tagesschau.de/tagesthemen/video-1310090.html
Annex 13
Contribution by the Deutscher Kulturrat on antisemitism in cultural institutions.
https://www.kulturrat.de/themen/texte-zur-kulturpolitik/antisemitismus-in-deutschen-kultureinrichtungen/
Annex 14
Instagram post about genocide by Deborah Feldmann. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJrgLwPIPIa/?img_index=1
Annex 15
Instagram post about apartheid by Nirit Sommerfeld. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQNuGS6BNs9/
Annex 18
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP3ql5EDnQG/
Annex 19
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCfLVs_scay/?img_index=2
Annex 20
https://www.instagram.com/p/DY_xIGmjdd7/?img_index=1
