Jakob Augstein
Jakob Augstein | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | German |
Occupation | Journalist |
Jakob Augstein (born 28 July 1967) is a German journalist, publisher and
Life and career
Augstein was born in
After graduating high school (
After 2005, he also worked for the
On 26 May 2008 Augstein bought, and became editor of, the minor weekly newspaper Der Freitag.
Between January 2011 and October 2018, he also wrote a weekly column for
Also since early 2011, he is the counterpart of
Augstein is married and has three children.
Accusations of antisemitism from the Simon Wiesenthal Center
In the 2012 edition of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's (SWC) list of Top Ten Anti-Semitic/Anti-Israel Slurs, Augstein was ranked ninth, for statements critical of Israel such as "Israel's nuclear power is a danger to the already fragile peace of the world", "the ultra-orthodox Hareidim...are cut from the same cloth as their Islamic fundamentalist opponents", "[violence in the middle east always benefits] the insane and unscrupulous. And this time it's the U.S. Republicans and Israeli government", and "Israel incubates its own opponents [on the Gaza strip]". His inclusion in the ranking sparked a vast controversy in German media.[2]
In response to the ranking, the influential conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that "the choice of Jakob Augstein for ninth place on the list of the 10 worst anti-Semites is a serious intellectual and strategic error made by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Not only has a critical journalist been placed in a group into which he doesn't belong, the nine other people and groups who have justifiably been pilloried can now exculpate themselves by pointing to such arbitrariness."[5]
Salomon Korn, vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, defended Augstein saying that he didn't believe that his writings were antisemitic and suggested that the Americans (referring to the SWC) hadn't done their homework.[2]
Der Spiegel tried to organize a debate between Augstein and the SWC. Augstein immediately agreed to the debate but Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who is one of the founders of the SWC and responsible for compiling the list, said he needed time to consider the offer. Cooper responded to the magazine, writing that "Mr. Augstein must publicly apologize in advance for the statements that earned him his designation on the Wiesenthal Center's Top Ten anti-Semitism List" otherwise he would refuse to "sit in the same room with him." Augstein refused the offer. The magazine then proposed that the debate would be held over Skype so that the two men wouldn't have to be seated in the same room, but Cooper again reiterated that he would not participate unless Augstein first apologized.[2]
Writings
- Augstein, Jakob (1998). Sieben Schüsse in Glienicke (in German). ISBN 978-3-446-19303-1.
- —— (2012). Die Tage des Gärtners (in German). ISBN 978-3-446-23875-6.
- —— (2013). Sabotage (in German). ISBN 978-3-446-24348-4.
Further reading
- "Jakob Augstein". In: Munzinger Internationales Biographisches Archiv. No. 11/2010. 16 March 2010 (gi). Updated last in week 27/2012.
References
- ^ Gerrit Bartels: Augstein und Walser. Vater und Sohn: Eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit. In: Der Tagesspiegel. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Wiesenthal Center Refuses Debate with Accused Author".
- ^ "Simon Wiesenthal Center Top Ten Anti-Semitic/ Anti-Israel Slurs 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ Das war nicht hilfreich. Ich entschuldige mich., Die Welt, 11 January 2013
- ^ What Makes an Anti-Semite? Wiesenthal List Induces Hand-Wringing in Germany, Der Spiegel, 4 January 2013
External links
- Literature by and about Jakob Augstein in the German National Library catalogue
- "Permanentes Gespräch mit den Lesern" – an article on Augstein in German media magazine kressreport (23 January 2009)
- "Jakob Augstein. Der Meinungsmakler" – an article in German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (24 January 2009)
- "Wir sind doch alle total versoftet." – an interview in online magazine Planet Interview (16 June 2009=