In the past few days, during the discussions about the anti-Semitic artworks at the Documenta and the question of what the management of the art exhibition had done (or not done) to prevent them, a new name came up: Emily Dische-Becker.

The journalist and curator coordinated a committee as an anti-Semitism advisor, on the recommendation of the Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth, explained last week the general director of the Documenta, whose contract has since been terminated.

Roth promptly denied it and announced that the proposal was "a decision by the Documenta management".

Emily Dische-Becker also wanted nothing to do with a committee and wrote of a "misleading representation".

Lena Bop

Editor in the Feuilleton.

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And not just because, as has been reported, it is said to be close to the BDS.

Or because she is accused of preparing some documenta guides with questionable advice on how to deal with allegations of anti-Semitism during an online seminar (a video of this seminar was leaked to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” last week).

But also because Emily Dische-Becker, who lived in Beirut, worked for the Lebanese newspaper "Al Akhbar".

In Lebanon, where newspapers are, with very few exceptions, the mouthpieces of political forces, “Al Akhbar” is considered to be close to the Shiite organization Hizbullah.

And as is well known, their ideological brand essence includes hatred of Israel, and Hizbullah cadres regularly indulge in fantasies of annihilation.

In a hostile country

Only recently the newspaper also ran a campaign against Germany.

In February, editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin wrote an editorial entitled "Let's drive the Germans out of Lebanon".

The reason for this was his dissatisfaction with the fact that Deutsche Welle had initiated some separation proceedings against members of the Arabic editorial team because of anti-Semitic statements.

The German government and its representatives in Lebanon, to which the editor-in-chief also counted the political foundations, had "declared their hostility towards those who reject the Israeli occupation".

The text ended with the words: "Germans in Lebanon, behave yourself from now on, you live in a hostile country."

Strangely enough, texts by Emily Dische-Becker for “Al Akhbar” can hardly be found on the internet.

The only exception dates back to 2006 and deals with trench warfare surrounding the then highly political UN investigation into the fatal bombing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which investigations revealed was apparently carried out by a Hizbullah assassination squad.

Back then, in 2006, "Al Akhbar" had just been founded.

It was classified as part of an Arab left that mixed anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism with anti-Israelism - and in parts was open to forming a front with Islamist organizations like Hezbollah against Americans and Israelis.

Under editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin, the newspaper increasingly gravitated towards Hezbollah, as long-established journalists in Beirut report.

And Al-Amin had already been in office for a few years when Dische-Becker acted as “Editor at large” for the newspaper’s English-language online portal in 2015.

This is also what it says on an archived website of the portal, which was closed in 2015, which Dische-Becker regretted in a tweet at the time.

The Arabic parent sheet, however, continues to exist - and is certainly not one whose name in Germany should be associated with an "anti-Semitism adviser" commissioned by anyone.