Telegraph and Politico owner says journalists must support Israel or resign

“Telegraph and Politico owner says journalists must support Israel or resign Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Thu, 04/30/2026 - 08:34 Mathias Dopfner has been accused of editorial interference by journalists over his pro-Israel mandates CEO of Axel Springer media group Mathias Doepfner (John MacDougall/AFP) Off The owner of the Telegraph and Politico has said the outlets' journalists must back Israel or resign, prompting accusations that the newsroom’s independence is under threat. Tensions inside Politico were laid bare this week after Axel Springer CEO Mathias Dopfner told staff that backing Israel forms a core value of working at the outlet. Axel Springer acquired the political news site in 2021. The remarks came during a tense internal meeting on Monday, convened after Politico journalists sent a letter to incoming editor-in-chief Jonathan Greenberger accusing the media mogul Dopfner of using the publication “to promote his political agenda”. Staff warned that his recent opinion pieces “risk undermining” the outlet’s “reputation as an impartial news source”, the Jewish Insider reported. The controversy deepens scrutiny of Axel Springer’s expanding media empire, particularly after it secured approval earlier this month to acquire the Daily Telegraph. Journalists fear the ideological direction set at the top could reshape editorial lines across its titles, skewing coverage of Israel, which faces a case at the International Court of Justice over the Gaza genocide that has killed at least 72,599 people and left more than 172,411 wounded. Dopfner, however, has made his position explicit. He insists that loyalty to Israel sits at the heart of the company’s identity, presenting it as part of a broader framework of five core values called the “essentials” that also includes “freedom, free markets, individual freedom and freedom of speech.” He places support for Israel immediately after those principles. “If that is something that somebody wants to question, then we are really reaching the very fundamental principles of our values,” Dopfner told staff. “And that then may lead simply to the decision that, because we are very transparent about it, it is then an individual decision whether Axel Springer and somebody who has so fundamentally different beliefs is really a good fit." 'Zionism above all else' The backlash also draws on a pattern of statements by Dopfner who has been dubbed “Germany’s Rupert Murdoch”. A leaked email published by Die Zeit last year revealed Dopfner ending a summary of his political beliefs with the phrase: “Zionism uber alles. Israel my country.” “Zionism uber alles” translates to "Zionism above all else". The phrase “uber alles” is higly controversial in Germany, where it formed the opening line of the national anthem during the Nazi period and came to symbolise the idea of Germany as superior to all other nations. Germany approves $3.1bn Israel arms deal despite Gaza genocide Read More » In October last year, Israeli President Isaac Herzog presented the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor to Dopfner and casino mogul and pro-Israel megadonor Miriam Adelson. Inside the newsroom, journalists challenged Dopfner’s editorial interventions more directly. He defended his writing and rejected calls for stricter evidentiary standards in opinion pieces. “The thing that honestly irritated me most,” he said, responding to criticism of his language on Iran, “is that you said in the latest piece, ‘he refers to Iran as the aggressor that was systematically pursuing nuclear weapons’, and you think that is misleading and irresponsible to publish that without clarification.” “I think you have to qualify or prove arguments or points if they are new or if they are debatable - but for me at least, these two facts - that the Iranians are working on the nuclear bomb and that they are aggressors for decades - are so obvious, so proven for many times, they are almost - it’s like saying America is the biggest democracy in the world.” “I don’t have to prove that,” he added. India is widely considered as the largest democracy in the world with 1.4 billion people, while Iran has always denied working on a nuclear weapon. Dopfner went on to tell staff he intends to “write more in the future, not less”. Media News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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