On the night of August 10th, Al-Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was murdered in Gaza City by the Israeli occupation force. The press tent was hit by rockets, as he and his team were live-reporting on Israel’s intense bombardment of Gaza City, shortly after the Israeli cabinet announced renewed military occupation of Gaza City.
The asassination of Anas al-Sharif and rest of the Al-Jazeera team in Gaza highlights Israel’s intent to suppress any accountability of its genocidal project.
We commemorate Anas al-Sharif and fellow reporters Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed al-Khaldi. We commemorate 212 journalists (according to International Federation of Journalists, of which Verdi trade union is an affiliate) from Gaza who have been killed by Israel since 2023.
Instead of condemning these blatant war crimes, different media outlets in Germany and even the media branches of Ver.di trade union (DJU) started a smear campaign, describing al-Sharif as affiliated with Hamas without evidence. The federal DJU statement defers to the Israeli military assertion without challenging its conjecture. While a moderate critique of the Israeli military’s actions was presented, the large part of the piece smeared al-Sharif’s legacy without evidence. All critical comments on the Instagram official statement (including ours) were deleted, and requests for comments from internal communications were given lip-service.
Even more disturbingly; the regional Berlin-Brandenburg branch of DJU outright endorses the assasination of al-Sharif. In contrast, the DJV (another media union) reported on the facts
In 2018, the Israeli military assassinated Yaser Murtaja, similarly claiming he was a Hamas militant. Seven years later, the Israeli military has yet to provide any public evidence. More than 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since 2023. With a military-blockade on foreign journalists from entering Gaza, the only reporting possible is from the brave journalists on the ground who know a target is painted on their back.
This is a political failure in Germany on multiple levels. Journalists and trade unionists alike should be asking the tough questions, doing diligent investigative reporting and hold power accountable. Instead, many see it as their job to uplift and parrot Israeli military statements without analysis.
As members of ver.di and its media branch, DJU, we can no longer tolerate the DJU relativising Israel’s genocide on Gaza, and attacking our comrades and colleagues who stand up for the people of Palestine with false accusations. The smear campaigns promoted by Jörg Reichel in Berlin play an instrumental role in repressing the Palestine solidarity movement both in Germany and Gaza. Our complicity with genocide should be replaced with solidarity. Our union membership dues should fund protection of journalism, not the glorification of war crimes.
