German channel fires journalist over attending pro-Palestine demonstration
Berlin (QNN)- The West German Broadcasting Corporation (WDR) on Tuesday fired journalist Nemi El-Hassan, accusing her of antisemitism after she attended a pro-Palestine demonstration in Berlin.
Twenty-eight-year-old El-Hassan had previously published a guest article in the Berliner Zeitung in which she defended herself and criticized “the lack of an honest debate in Germany to separate antisemitism from criticism of Israel”.
The story started when the right-wing newspaper “Bild” published a report, accusing El-Hassan of being antisemitic over attending a massive pro-Palestine demonstration, which is organized annually in Berlin, in 2014. El-Hassan was quick to express regret for attending the rally and condemned any anti-Semitic behaviour at the demonstration.
Following the Bild report, WDR channel quickly axed her from a science show known as ‘Quarks’, a role she was supposed to take up later this year.
Bild, which described the Palestine solidarity march as an ‘anti-Israel hate march’, reported the story as an ‘Islamism scandal’, and the editor-in-chief questioned her scientific capabilities and knowledge live on TV, citing her religion as a reason.
