A fellow soldier’s testimony

War is a place of violence – and contested narratives. Journalistic work in armed conflicts is under particular pressure: access is limited, sources are at risk, interpretations are politically exploited. At the same time, reports can have legal, diplomatic and social consequences. This discussion evening is dedicated to the question of what responsibility journalism bears in war – towards those affected, towards international law and towards a public in which anti-Semitic interpretations pose a real danger.

How do you talk about a conflict that tears everything apart – debates, friendships, certainties? About which many say: You can’t talk about that. We will try to make a start. This discussion evening will examine journalistic work in war, Germany’s specific responsibility and our standards of evaluation in the face of massive attacks on international law worldwide. No easy solutions will be offered this evening. Instead, we will talk – tentatively, contradictorily, with each other.

The starting point is an internationally acclaimed investigation by Paper Trail Media into an Israeli soldier from Munich who is accused of shooting civilians in the Gaza Strip. The investigation raises questions of international law, which are now also the subject of legal review. There is a suspected violation of the law – which must be investigated from a journalistic and international law perspective. At the same time, the question arises as to how such allegations can be journalistically verified, classified and communicated without generalising, demonising or fuelling anti-Israeli sentiment.

How can ambiguities be tolerated when there are no easy answers?

The discussion brings together journalistic and international law perspectives: reporter Hanna Resch and investigative journalist Maria Retter will be joined by international law experts Prof. Dr. Christoph Safferling and Dr. Alexander Schwarz.

The evening is intended as an invitation to highlight complexity and engage in responsible dialogue with one another – about war, law and the conditions of public truth.