Beyond Journalism: The Campaign Against ZERA
How Maral Salmassi and Jewish Staff Members Became Targets
For months, Maral Salmassi, Jewish members of staff and the ZERA Institute have been the targets of an aggressive media campaign involving not only DER SPIEGEL, but also taz and Der Tagesspiegel. At the forefront of this campaign has been SPIEGEL journalist Hannes Schrader. International experts and partners were approached with leading questions and subtle suggestions that they should distance themselves from the Institute.
Particularly disturbing has been the treatment of two Jewish members of staff who came to Germany as refugees from the war in Ukraine. DER SPIEGEL portrayed them in a distorted and, at times, seemingly sexist manner. For one of them, who is severely disabled, the reporting had serious consequences for her health.
Another remarkable connection has since emerged: an Afghan-born lawyer and politician from Germany’s Left Party, with a documented history of anti-Israel statements, has for months been pursuing a political and legal campaign against Berlin’s funding of initiatives combating antisemitism. He has now become a key source for DER SPIEGEL on precisely this issue.
For Ruhrbarone, Peter Hesse examined documents and correspondence, investigated contradictions and traced the political interests behind this reporting. Anyone seeking to understand what has been happening over the past several months should read his investigation:
