This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Support for Israel is set to become a virtual purity test for Telegraph journalists after the newspaper’s takeover by German media giant Axel Springer, whose chief executive, Mathias Döpfner, has reportedly described his political credo as “Zionism above all”.
The acquisition, cleared by UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, puts one of Britain’s most influential newspapers under the control of a company that formally lists support for Israel as one of its core institutional values.
According to details published by Owen Jones, Döpfner wrote to Telegraph staff to say they would operate within Axel Springer’s “Essentials”, a set of principles that the company presents as its editorial compass.
Among them is a commitment to support “the right of existence of the State of Israel” and to oppose “all forms of antisemitism”, placing Israel second only to freedom, free speech, the rule of law and democracy in the company’s hierarchy of values.
The singling out of Israel for special protection out of 193 UN member states has raised concern. Israel alone is explicitly granted this level of institutional protection in Axel Springer’s declared values, raising immediate questions about how far editorial independence can really extend under the new ownership.
READ: MEMO Monitoring: Exposing the German media’s pro-Israel bias
Axel Springer insists its “Essentials” create the conditions for “maximum journalistic freedom and intellectual independence”, but critics argue that requiring adherence to a fixed political position on a specific foreign state undermines any claim to neutrality.
Döpfner’s outspoken support for Israel is also likely to deepen concern about whether the Telegraph can cover Palestine fairly under its new owners. The Guardian reported that leaked messages attributed to him using the phrase “Zionism above all”.
Döpfner’s public remarks have also repeatedly blurred the line between support for Palestinians and support for Hamas. In an internal Axel Springer transcript published by the company, he described more than four million social media posts under “Free Palestine” and similar hashtags as “pro-Hamas topics”.
That framing is likely to deepen concern among journalists and readers alike about how criticism of Israel may be treated at the Telegraph under its new owners.
A Telegraph journalist told Owen Jones that being informed by the incoming owner’s chief executive that support for Israel was effectively a core principle was “more than a little concerning”, adding that it raised questions about “how any reporting from the paper can be considered factual if that is our core principle”.
READ: Anti-Palestinianism is the modern day McCarthyism
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- How the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reshaping global energy flows
- Is the Strait of Hormuz the key to resolving the crisis?
- Senate Democrats vote to block arms for Israel as base turns pro-Palestine
- Progress without justice: why Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s killing is unlikely to reach a courtroom
- Iran has ‘high’ incentive to maintain ceasefire, US forces remain ‘postured’: US defense chief
- Saudi Arabia extends $8B support to Pakistan amid UAE debt repayment
- France bars Palestinian rights group Al-Haq director from entry
- The “Third Gulf War” and the collapse of the oil-for-security bargain
- ‘Zionism above all’: Telegraph takeover sparks fears over Israel loyalty test
- When hegemony reaches its limits
- Iran supreme leader’s adviser threatens to sink US ships in Strait of Hormuz
- Bint Jbeil ablaze as close-range battles turn city into open military test ground
- The naval blockade of Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz: Long-term implications for global energy security
- Individuals and organisations from 30 countries, including the UK-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, have put their name to a blistering open letter condemning the US/Israeli war on Iran
- Beyond rhetoric, is there political will to move away from the two-state paradigm?
- 378 crimes in 40 days: Surge in West Bank settler attacks occurring under government cover
- Widespread popular activities in support of prisoners in the occupation prisons on Palestinian Prisoner’s Day
- 26 million Iranians volunteer to defend country, including public figures
- Former European officials urge suspension of EU-Israel agreement
- White House signals military option remains on table against Iran
- Hope in the data: Can Palestine explain America’s moral shift?
- Hamas rejects US claims on Gaza aid as “misleading”
- Egypt-Cyprus gas deal signals strategic shift in regional energy balance
- Hezbollah bloc chief rejects Lebanon direct talks with Israel
- Jordan welcomes UNESCO decision on Jerusalem, rejects Israeli measures
- Arab League outlines five principles to resolve Sudan crisis
- Iran and US deny reports of preliminary ceasefire extension agreement
- Celebrating division as a success in Libya
- White House says next round of talks with Iran ‘very likely’ in Islamabad
- Strait of Hormuz should not be used as political, economic pressure tool: Gulf Cooperation Council chief
- China’s Xi assured Trump of no weapons support to Iran: White House
- Israel appoints 1st ambassador to Somalia’s breakaway region in controversial move
- Senate minority leader pushes 4th war powers vote as Iran war enters day 47
- China urges stable transit and respect for Iran’s rights in Strait of Hormuz
- Pakistan army chief in Tehran for talks with Iranian foreign minister ahead of expected fresh US talks
- Israel’s New Gospel of Perpetual War | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani
- UN chief calls Sudan conflict world’s ‘largest humanitarian crisis’ 3 years on
- Israel launches operation to demolish homes in frontline villages in Lebanon: Report
- 8 more Gazans killed by Israeli fire despite ceasefire, death toll nears 72,350
- Washington yet to formally agree to Iran ceasefire extension: US official
- Most Italians view Trump’s handling of Iran war negatively
- US to deploy thousands more troops to Middle East to pressure Iran: Report
- Iran threatens to block exports, imports in Gulf if US blockade continues
- Europe promotes plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz without US: report
- Marwan Barghouti subjected to “brutal” assaults in Israeli jail
- European petition exceeds one million signatures to suspend EU-Israel agreement
- Israel arrested 1,700 Palestinian children in West Bank since October, 2023, rights group says
- Afghanistan delivers 530 tons of aid to Gaza
- Pakistani premier departs for Saudi Arabia on regional tour to discuss Middle East situation
- Iran interior minister dismisses impact of blockade threats
