Last month, amid fighting between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza, anti-Semitic attacks in Germany rose sharply. In some cases, Israeli flags were torn down and burned during pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and synagogues were attacked, according to the AP. In response, pro-Israel rallies were held, and Israeli flags were flown in various locations around the country expressing support for Israel.
One German media company decided to join, raising an Israeli flag at its Berlin headquarters. And while it didn't take long for some employees to gripe about the way Axel Springer chose to show solidarity with the Jewish people, the company's CEO Mathias Döpfner had the perfect response.
"I think, and I'm being very frank with you, a person who has an issue with an Israeli flag being raised for one week here, after anti-Semitic demonstrations, should look for a new job," Döpfner said in a video conference, according to The Jerusalem Post. "After these weeks of terrible antisemitic demonstrations, we at our building headquarters raised next to the European flag, and the German flag, [and] the Berlin flag, said let's raise for one week the Israeli flag as a gesture of solidarity. We do not accept this kind of aggressive anti-Semitic movements."
Axel Springer is the largest digital publisher in Europe and has not been shy about its values.
"We support the Jewish people and the right of existence of the State of Israel" is among the five essential values listed on the company's website, reports the Post.
