German broadcaster suspends partnership with Jordanian station over anti-Israel concerns

Deutsche Welle (DW) announced on Sunday it has suspended its partnership with Jordanian TV station Roya TV over concerns about anti-Israeli and antisemitic content on their social media page, The Associated Press reported

In a statement, Deutsche Welle senior executive Guido Baumhauer said it will have to re-evaluate its partnership due to the discovery that “several pieces of content disseminated via the broadcaster’s social media channels are definitely not consistent with the values of DW.”

Baumhauer said the German broadcaster distances itself from the social media comments and “regrets its initial assessment that Roya TV is not anti-Israel,” according to The AP. 

Deutsche Welle entered a partnership with Roya TV due to the Jordanian broadcaster’s stance on gender equality, the rights of minorities in their country, and their promotion of young people’s media literacy. 

Diplomatic relations with Israel and Jordan have become strained in recent years over tensions at the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem and Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements at the West Bank, The AP reported. 

DW also said on Friday it has suspended four employees and one freelancer after an investigation found they expressed anti-Israel and antisemitic views.

A German newspaper had quoted social media comments allegedly from employees of DW’s Arabic service minimizing the holocaust and repeating Jewish stereotypes, the AP reported. 

DW has requested an independent external investigation on the matter.