Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 04/12/2023; Author: Katja Turšič
The articles referred to by Nova24tv in its reports put Israel’s actions in the appropriate political and international legal context, says Primož Šterbenc, assistant professor at the Faculty of Management, University of Primorska.
On November 8, the portal Nova24tv reported that the Slovenian national public broadcaster, RTV Slovenija, was spreading anti-Semitism, invoking an article by the American online media outlet Algemeiner, which covers “the Middle East, Israel and the interests of Jews around the world”. The broadcaster was also accused of disseminating fake news, hatred, xenophobia, and glorifying terrorism.
In an opinion piece published on May 24, Algemeiner argued that “anti-Semitism in the Slovenian state-sponsored media is a major problem”, focusing on the coverage of the RTV Slovenija.
The article, written under a pseudonym, drew attention to concerns raised by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. This human rights organization, dedicated to studying the Holocaust and anti-Jewish sentiments, had earlier reached out to Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar in February. Their correspondence warned of the alleged proliferation of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and fake news by RTV Slovenija, and even accused the broadcaster of extolling a terrorist organization.
Algemeiner also argued that journalist Boris Vasev was instrumental in propagating anti-Semitism, saying that in his articles he had referred to Israel in derogatory terms such as “apartheid regime of Jewish supremacy” and “the project of Jewish settler colonialism “.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), whose non-binding legal definition of anti-Semitism was adopted by Slovenia in 2018, describes anti-Semitism as the expression of hatred towards Jews, their property, institutions, and places of worship.
Robert Wistrich, a scholar who has extensively studied anti-Semitism, noted in a scholarly article on the subject that the term anti-Semitism is often associated with anti-Zionism. Anti-Zionism denies Jews the right to self-determination and is therefore the most dangerous and effective form of anti-Semitism.
Between the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7 and the publication of the Nova24tv article on November 8, journalist Boris Vasev reported on the situation a total of five times.
Primož Šterbenc, an assistant professor at the University of Primorska’s Faculty of Management, with expertise on the political and security situation in the Middle East, told Razkrinkavanje.si that the content of Vasev’s articles published during this period did not constitute or contain elements of anti-Semitism.
“I think that the justified criticism of some of the highly problematic positions and actions of Israel, more precisely, political Zionism, is in fact an implicit message that the immense and invaluable religious, philosophical, cultural, intellectual and socio-political greatness of Judaism may not be questioned,” he said.
Last February, Amnesty International published a report analyzing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They defined apartheid as Israel’s imposition of a system of oppression and domination over the Palestinians.
Human Rights Watch, in their April 2021 report, concluded that Israel is committing crimes against humanity, such as apartheid and persecution.
The apartheid regime implemented by the Israeli regime across all the areas under its control, i.e. in the Israeli sovereign territory, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, has also been condemned by B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
As of now, the editors of the portal have not issued a response to our findings.
The claim by Nova24tv that RTVS journalist Boris Vasev is spreading anti-Semitism is not true.