German presenter fired for joining protest in occupied West Bank
Matondo Castlo was fired from KiKa TV over accusations of anti-Israel bias after he attended a peaceful demonstration in the Palestinian town of Beit Dajan.
A German children's TV channel has fired one of its presenters for taking part in a Palestinian protest in the occupied West Bank.
Matondo Castlo shared a post on his Instagram account that he was sacked by his KiKa TV network this week for participating in a protest in the town of Beit Dajan near Nablus in August.
He said the demonstration was peaceful and aimed to protest land confiscation by Israeli forces and settlers.
"I didn't intend to express a political statement and particularly not position myself against Israel. I immediately stated this publicly and explained this to KiKa many times,” Castlo said.
READ MORE: Anti-Palestinian assault in German media comes as no surprise
German TV network KiKa has fired its presenter, Matondo Castlo, over attending an anti-occupation Farkha Festival in the occupied West Bank.
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 10, 2022
Castlo was campaigning to help Palestinian children, who were affected by the illegal occupation of Israel in the region. pic.twitter.com/jWX9xc9CpK
'Extremist, Israel hater'
The TV presenter’s participation in the pro-Palestinian protest has drawn fire from German newspapers, with Bild newspaper publishing a story titled “Extremist festival: KiKa host demonstrates alongside Israel haters”.
Haaretz reported that Bild’s story in August included support for his dismissal from right-leaning members of the Bundestag.
Since the reports, KiKa “decided together [with Castlo] to not continue the work with him until all aspects are clarified,” it added.
This was not the first time that a German TV presenter had been fired due to his support to Palestinians.
In February, five employees of Germany's state broadcaster Deutsche Welle, including Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Farah Maraqa, were fired on charges of alleged anti-Semitism.
In September, a German labour court ruled that the dismissal of Maraqa by was not legally justified.
READ MORE: German court rules sacking of Palestinian DW journalist unlawful