The Jewish Museum has fired a guide who described Israel as an apartheid state Photo: Ralf Lutter
By Axel Lier
The Jewish Museum in Kreuzberg has fired an employee. Reason: During his tours he described Israel as an apartheid regime.
The employee made his expulsion public on Instagram. “I used the term ‘apartheid’ during my tours to describe the human rights situation in the West Bank,” writes Udi Raz in the post on the social network.
The Jewish Museum reacted consistently. Spokeswoman Sascha Perkins: “Udi Raz used tours to confront visitors with personal political views and evaluations.” This was not part of the agreement and does not correspond to the museum’s educational standards. “Against this background, we have decided not to award any further orders to Udi Raz,” said Perkins.
Udi Raz was therefore a freelance guide for the museum. According to the spokeswoman, the guides are tasked with “conveying the contents of the exhibitions in a well-founded and differentiated manner”.
Sascha Perkins: “Guides should not impose their opinion on the group, but should enable participants to form their own opinions; topics should be presented and discussed comprehensively and from different perspectives.”
Udi Raz is a board member of the “Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East”. A club founded in October 2007. According to the association’s own statement, the aim of the association is for the federal government to work “strongly and unequivocally in the interest of establishing a viable, sovereign state of Palestine on integrated territory and within secure borders”.