Source: unpublished.de (Link: Instagram)
Berlin 15 Aug 2025, a vigil in front of the offices in front of the German Journalist Union DJU (part of the Union verdi) was organized by journalists to condemn the targeting of journalists by Israel and German media’s complicity by defaming Palestinian journalists.
A speech that was held at the vigil calls for the resignation of Jörg Reichel, head of German Journalist Union Berlin (Deutsche Journalisten Union – DJU) for showing unprofessionalism and bias against journalists and protesters at almost every Palestine solidarity rally or march.
Audio to text transcription of the speech:
“We’re in front of Verdi, we’re in front of the offices of the DJU, that’s the German Journalist Union. Anyone who has ever been to a Palestine demonstration knows the head of the German Journalist Union in Berlin, Jörg Reichel. I’ve been going to those demonstrations for a decade.
And I think it’s really, it’s incredible that someone can have such a busy job, being a journalist, being the head of the Journalist Union and still going to every single Palestine demo. But as we all know, he’s not doing it out of solidarity, he’s not doing it out of empathy with the children of Gaza. And he’s most certainly not doing it out of solidarity with his slain colleagues in Gaza and in Palestine.”
“He’s doing it to film people together with his band of journalists that are protected by their journalists’ press cards. They are protected by the police. They are more than protected by the police. We’ve all seen how they at times even command the police. How they tell the police, go and arrest this person, go and arrest this person. Those are German journalists working hand in hand with the police with the sole aim of crushing any opposition to the genocide in Gaza. And this cannot stand.
We as journalists, we as media producers, we cannot allow that the person in charge of the well-being, safety of journalists in Berlin can tweet like he did yesterday an article calling Anas al-Sharif a terrorist. An article legitimizing the murder of a journalist and defaming a colleague. And this is the person who’s in charge of supporting us here. This is the person who decides who gets a press card in this city. Yeah? While his goons with their press cards defame, label, and at times even cause people to be arrested, to lose their visas, to lose their livelihoods.
We as journalists, the only way, or not the only way, there are many ways that we can channel our rage, but if we are journalists in Berlin, one way that we can channel our rage against the genocide, against the killing of more than 200 of our colleagues, is by insisting that Jörg Reichel cannot be the head of the DJU in Berlin. This cannot stand.
Someone who not openly supported genocide but actively represses actively defames actively libels the people who are standing up against this genocide. Yeah, and doing it in the name of supporting jewish life, I’m jewish, I was arrested at least twice because of his wounds, he is not protecting us.
He is only protecting the genocide Israel is conducting in Gaza. And if he wants to protect the genocide, if he wants to support the genocide, he can do it. If he wants to be a journalist and support the genocide, he can do it. But he cannot be the head of the journalist union in Berlin, Brandenburg. And I call on everyone, I’m not in the DJU anymore, but anyone who still is, use your power.
Quit! I know it’s difficult to quit because you lose the defense of the press card and it’s not so easy to get another one. But do what you can. Leave the Union. Complain. We have to get Georg Reischel out of his post in the DJU. Thank you.”
