The owner of the Telegraph and Politico gives his journalists a choice: support Israel or resign news

The CEO of the German “Axel Springer” media group, Matthias Döpfner, sparked a wave of controversy after statements he made to employees of the “Politico” website, in which he gave them the choice between adhering to what he called the company’s core principles – including support for Israel – or leaving the organization, which reinforced concerns about the editorial independence of one of the largest media groups in Europe.

His statements came during a tense meeting held on Monday, April 27, with journalists and Politico officials following a letter from employees in which they warned that opinion articles written by Doepfner might weaken the organization’s image as an impartial news source.

According to audio leaks obtained by Jewish Insider, Döpfner said: “No one should work at Axel Springer who is at odds with one of the group’s basic principles.”

The “fundamentals” imposed by the group, which also owns the “Telegraph” and “Bild” newspapers and the “Business Insider” platform, revolve around values ​​that include freedom, free markets, and “Israel’s right” to exist.

In his speech, Döpfner stressed that supporting Israel comes directly after the values ​​of individual freedom, considering that questioning this principle affects the essence of the company’s values, which requires an individual decision by the journalist to leave if he does not find himself compatible with this approach.

The head of the media group, whom some call “Germany’s Rupert Murdoch,” rejected employees’ accusations that the opinion articles he writes undermine the organization’s neutrality, especially after articles in which he called on Europe to stand with Washington and Tel Aviv against Iran.

He defended his use of harsh language towards Tehran, saying that he preferred to describe its leadership as “terrorists” or “mass killers” rather than “aggressors,” considering that Iran’s pursuit of possessing a nuclear weapon is “an obvious fact that does not need proof.”

These developments come at a time when Israel is facing accusations of genocide in Gaza before the International Court of Justice, where statistics indicate that more than 72,000 Palestinians were martyred and about 172,000 others were injured.

Observers and journalists within the institution fear that this strict ideological orientation will distort media coverage and change editorial lines, especially after the group’s recent acquisition of the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

It is worth noting that previous leaks had revealed an email by Döpfner that he concluded with the phrase, “Zionism is above everything…Israel is my country,” a wording that raised extreme sensitivities in Germany due to the association of the term “above everything” with the Nazi era.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog awarded Döpfner the Presidential Medal of Honor last October in appreciation of his role and supportive positions.