Jewry

Ancient times

Tacitus says that the Jews "are said to have been refugees from the island of Crete who settled in the remotest corner of Libya in the days when, according to the story, Saturn was driven from his throne by the aggression of Jupiter." Their name was to stem from mount Ida in Crete, the inhabitants of the lands being called "Idaei". Tacitus then recounts a story of the Jews similar to the one in the Torah, specifically the book of Exodus. Tacitus writes about their practice to sacrifice rams, prohibition on eating pork, ritual of fasting, the eating of unleavened bread and idleness on the seventh day and year, as well as circumcision. About their behavior he says: "The other practices of the Jews are sinister and revolting, and have entrenched themselves by their very wickedness. Wretches of the most abandoned kind who had no use for the religion of their fathers took to contributing dues and free-will offerings to swell the Jewish exchequer; and other reasons for their increasing wealth way be found in their stubborn loyalty and ready benevolence towards brother Jews. But the rest of the world they confront with the hatred reserved for enemies. They will not feed or intermarry with gentiles. Though a most lascivious people, the Jews avoid sexual intercourse with women of alien race. Among themselves nothing is barred."

Attacking the Alien Act

In 1904 the Conservative Party wanted to pass the "Aliens Bill" in order to reduce the number of Jews entering Britain due to the persecution they experienced in the Russian Empire. Nathan Laski, the president of the Old Hebrew Congregation of Manchester and Chairman of the Manchester Jewish Hospital, enlisted Churchill's support in opposing the Aliens Bill and helped him prepare a criticism. Churchill argued against the bill on the 31st of May 1904 in the Manchester Guardian and in The Times by writing that the Bill appealed "to insular prejudice against foreigners, to racial prejudice against Jews, and to labour prejudice against competition." The same day he left the Conservative Party and joined the Liberal Party. Nathan Laski wrote to him that he had thus "won the gratitude of the whole Jewish Community". Without a full debate, the bill was sent to the Grand Committee, which was much smaller and of which Churchill was one of the four members of the Liberal party. Churchill then stalled the progress of the Bill by challenging every minor detail of the 11 clauses and 240 lines. The Jewish Chronicle wrote that "Mr Laski said he had interviewed Mr Winston Churchill, who had seen Lord Rothschild with reference to the Bill. The result of the interview was the Mr Churchill was practically leading the attack on the Bill in Grand Committee." Another member of the Committee accused Churchill of "faithfully carrying out the instructions he had received from the party for  which he was acting", which Churchill described as "slander". Due to the stalling of the bill's opponents, after seven days of deliberations, only three of the 240 lines had been discussed, which prompted the government to abandon the bill. However, in early 1906 the Liberal party, which was now in power, passed their own Aliens Bill. In February of 1907 Churchill wrote to Home Secretary Herbert Gladstone: "I was concerned to find the other day how very bitter and disappointed the Jewish Community have become in consequence of the continuance of this very harsh and quite indefensible measure [...] hope you will be able to do something to allay the feeling which is rife. I am sure the Liberal Party would support the repeal of such a foolish piece of legislation." On the 14th of March he and a few fellow-winded deputies met the prime minister to protest against the high naturalization fees that were part of the Act.

The Balfour Declaration

In 1904, Chaim Weizmann moved to England, even though he did not speak English. He said he chose England, because it treated Jews as equals and it was "likely to show genuine sympathy for a movement [Zionism] like ours." There he was received by a left-wing Jew in London. Soon, he moved to Manchester where was received by a fellow Zionist Jew, Joseph Massel, who introduced him to another Zionist Jew, Charles Dreyfus, the chairman of the Zionist group in Manchester, a member of the Manchester Town Council and chairman of the Conservative party in Manchester. Dreyfus arranged a meeting for Weizmann with Arthur James Balfour, the former prime minister of Great Britain (who had just resigned and was campaigning in Manchester). Weizmann was apparently the first Jew that Balfour met that was vehemently opposed to a Jewish homeland in Uganda (as was at that time debated) and insisted it be established in Palestine instead. Weizmann claims that this meeting taught him, that "if someone had been found to present the case of Palestine to the British authorities, it would not have been difficult to enlist their sympathies and perhaps, in certain circumstances, their active support.“ Via the work of his wife, Weizmann established contact with C.P. Scott, the editor of the Manchester Guardian, in November of 1914. According to Weizmann it was well known that Scott had sympathy with "Jewish ideals". They had talks and written exchanges and Weizmann argued that the Jews settled in Palestine would form "a very effective guard for the Suez Canal". Scott decided to arrange a meeting for Weizmann with Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George and Herbert Samuel, a member of the current government.

Axel Springer SE (German/European media company)

Axel Springer and his dad Heinrich Springer applied for a publishing license in 1945 with the British occupation authorities. Even though he was a known critic of the NSDAP, had never been a member and did not fight in the war, the British wanted to get to know him first and let him move about the city of Hamburg. In these three months of 1945 Springer "drew up plans for a newspaper that was to be an 'open democratic mediator' addressing German Wehrmacht soldiers in British camps". He also "launched a theatre-focused publishing house, supplying theatres with plays that conveyed 'the spirit of democracy and tolerance'". In December of 1945 the British authorities gave him the license and the company was founded in January 1 1946, at first called "Hammerich & Lesser". However, contrary to his plans, he was only allowed to publish books. But a couple months later, the British gave him the license to publish the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte" (magazines, not books), which were "print versions of broadcasts from the British radio station in northern Germany", part of the Allied re-education efforts. Axel Springer supported re-education, saying that Nationalsocialism had been removed militarily, but that the "defeated are not necessarily convinced". There was a shortage of paper at the time, but Axel Springer was supplied by the British, giving Springer a strong advantage over the few existing competitiors. In addition, the magazines were ordered by English run camps full of German prisoners of war, as camps from other Allied nations trying to re-educate their German prisoners.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Cramer_(Journalist)

https://www.axelspringer.com/de/inside/das-ist-nicht-irgendein-staat

https://www.axelspringer.com/de/inside/ich-wollte-nicht-dass-hitler-seinen-willen-bekommt

https://www.axelspringer.com/de/inside/es-gilt-das-freie-wort

https://www.wuv.de/Archiv/Axel-Springer-modernisiert-Verhaltenskodex

https://www.axelspringer.com/de/inside/fuer-amerika-und-gegen-den-mainstream

https://x.com/wikileaks/status/1944005635760169209

Since 1967 Axel Springer SE has an official list of "essentials", which have been adapted over time and currently (2026) are 1) support for "freedom, free speech, the rule of law, and democracy", 2) support for "the right of existence of the State of Israel and oppose all forms of antisemitism", 3) support for the USA-Europe alliance, 4) support for free market economics and 5) rejection of "political and religious extremism and all forms of discrimination". These "essentials" are part of the Code of Conduct, which describes "both legally compliant conduct and basic ethical values". According to the company's human rights strategy policy statement, the Code of Conduct is "binding for all employees and managers".

During the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023 and the following war, Antonia Yamin and Til Biermann were chief reporters for the conflict at BILD. Yamin is the daughter of a German mother and an Israeli father. Before working at BILD, she worked for the Israeli station KAN TV. She had also been a member of the Israeli Air Force at some point and received news of the October 7 attack via text message from her younger sister, who, like other family members, lives in Israel. She claims to have "extremely reliable sources of information in both the Israeli army and the government". Biermann is not Jewish, but spent half a year in Israel and speaks Hebrew.

Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, said in a 2026 speech at the World Jewish Congress "I'm a goy, and I'm a Zionist" and that "all antisemites in word and deed regardless of their origin must be expelled wherever legally possible." In the same speech he supported "preferential immigration and citizenship for Jewish families" in support of "multiculturalism" and "diversity". The "woke moement" according to him, "is engaged in the reevaluation of all values" so that it "idealizes victims as the new heroes", having decided that the victims are the antisemites. He ended his speech by saying "We shall all be Zionists."