Melanie Schweizer

It’s a duty to behave in a benevolent manner toward your employer. They’re referring to the fact that I said in an interview with Democracy Now! that I was suspended and didn’t know why, which is true. It’s not plausible to me how the allegations justify a suspension or dismissal.

Then there’s a mix of other allegations. For example, we have a news ticker on our intranet that includes a contact email address. I misinterpreted it as an option for feedback. Why else would there be a contact mentioned in each news ticker item? After reading a ticker message justifying the killing of civilians in October 2024, especially children, with the human shield theory, I wrote to that address and asked them to adhere to minimum journalistic and legal standards. This is constructed as an abuse of my ministerial position. They claim I would have attacked the freedom of the press.

What is also mentioned is an open letter written together with professors and artists, including many international ones, including some from Israel. When the letter was first published, I added my position, as all signatories listed their position and employers. On December 10, I received a call from a colleague, not management. I was told that the letter was OK, I just needed to remove my affiliation to the ministry. I complied immediately.

This is now construed as usurpation of authority. They argue I wanted to create the impression I was speaking on behalf of the ministry. That’s pretty far-fetched; after all, we very well know the stance of the German federal government on Israel-Palestine. It was obviously a dissenting letter. I am also accused of bringing my political views into my work. This is justified by the fact that allegedly some colleagues no longer want to work with me since the Bild article that appeared on December 12.

As a result of the article, I was suspended and have never set foot in the office since. However, I was never told which or how many colleagues allegedly no longer wanted to work with me. The first letter I received stated the ministry had received numerous administrative complaints. I then asked them to be more specific. Let me read the response: “As of December 8, 2024, first complaints were received from various citizens about the activities of federal officials on social media. Among other things, one person pointed out that she had described Gaza as the world’s largest concentration camp. Another claimed, among other things, that they had ‘aggressively accused former MP Volker Beck [a right-wing genocide supporter and lobbyist, chair of the German-Israeli Society and various other lobbyist groups] of antisemitism.”

I guess it started with a smear campaign on X launched by Malca Goldstein-Wolf [another right-wing genocide supporter and influencer] who posted various accusations eventually picked up by Bild.