(JTA) — The French-German channel Arte is facing criticism for deciding not to broadcast a documentary called “Chosen and Excluded — Jew Hatred in Europe.”

Arte’s head of programming, Alain le Diberder, wrote a letter to the Central Council of Jews in Germany on Thursday defending the network’s decision, according to Deutsche Welle.

Diberder’s said that the documentary was supposed to focus on rising anti-Semitism in countries such as Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Hungary and Greece. Arte, which is jointly owned by France and Germany’s public broadcasting agencies, claims that the film instead “concentrates primarily on the Middle East.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The film’s director Joachim Schroeder told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that Arte failed to recognize that “modern anti-Semitism is anti-Zionism.”

“You can’t make a film on anti-Semitism [on European television] without saying every three minutes that the Palestinians are the victims of Israelis,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder told the Post that he “delivered” by covering anti-Semitism in Germany and France in the film.

Central Council of German Jews President Josef Schuster asked the channel to reconsider airing the documentary and wondered why formalistic considerations derailed the showing.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount