Ludwig Watzal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ludwig Watzal (* 1950 ) is a German political scientist and journalist.

Life

After completing an apprenticeship as a wholesaler, he passed the Abitur at the Theodor Litt College in Kassel. He studied political science at the Free University in Berlin (Dipl. Pol.), International relations at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (MA), philosophy at the University of Philosophy SJ in Munich (MA) and Catholic theology in Würzburg . Watzal was a research assistant for political science and international relations at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich, where he was also awarded a Dr. phil. PhD. From 2000 to 2006 he worked as a lecturer at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn. Watzal worked at the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB) from 1986 to 2016 . He works as an editor and journalist. For radio and television stations he comments on events in the Middle East, US foreign policy, European integration and development policy.

Subject areas

According to Johannes Kuppe, Ludwig Watzal is an expert on Middle East politics and has published several books on the Middle East conflict since the 1990s, alongside books on development policy and related theoretical debates. His most important Middle East books include a central book on the human rights situation of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation, as well as two other books on the peace process (1998 and 2001, the latter in the second edition in 2002). The 1998 book was published in 1999 under the title "Peace Enemies" at Passia in Jerusalem. In addition, there are numerous magazine and book articles as well as newspaper articles and book reviews on other international, European and German political issues, i. H. on human rights, European integration and German and American foreign policy.

Allegations of anti-Semitism

Watzal was repeatedly accused of anti-Semitic tendencies. He published articles in radical left magazines such as Campo Antiimperialista , on whose website he described Israel as a “colonial power gone wild” and identified the cause of Palestinian terrorism solely in the “brutal Israeli occupation”. Both the General Secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany , Stephan Kramer , as well as other representatives of Jewish organizations therefore demanded that Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble be dismissed from BPB employees in 2008 . Its spokesman, Raul Gersson, said that because of his one-sided view, Watzal has not been allowed to work on topics that deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2005. He was also prohibited from mentioning in private journalistic activities that he works for the BPB, and he is no longer allowed to represent the headquarters on trips to Israel.

Watzal rejected the allegations of anti-Semitism and stated that he was only critical of the "occupation policy of Israel, the human rights violations against the Palestinians and Israel's violations of international law".

On May 25, 2011, Watzal criticized in a blog comment the level of a current hour held on the same day in the German Bundestag on "Current social science studies on possible anti-Semitic and anti-Israel positions and behavior in the party Die Linke ". The MP named in this comment, Hans-Peter Uhl, complained to Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and asked for Watzal's dismissal. In July 2011, the BPB terminated Watzal's teleworking position, which had existed since April 2010, and justified this with the history of his statements critical of Israel. This termination was declared ineffective on January 12, 2012 by the Bonn Labor Court, as private expression of opinion does not constitute a reason for termination.

Books (selection)

  • Ethics - Culture - Development. To Albert Schweitzer's development concept . Muster-Schmidt, Göttingen and Zurich 1985, ISBN 3-7881-1741-9 .
  • The development policy of the Catholic Church in the Federal Republic of Germany . In: Series Development and Peace / Scientific Series . tape 36 . Grünewald and Kaiser, Mainz and Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7867-1175-5 (Zugl .: Munich, Hochsch. D. Bundeswehr, Diss., 1983).
  • Federal Agency for Civic Education. Red .: Ludwig Watzal (ed.): Human rights. Documents and declarations . Federal Agency for Political Education, Bonn 1991, ISBN 3-89331-100-9 (Further updated and expanded editions: 1995, 1999, 2004).
  • Basic knowledge of politics . In: Federal Agency for Political Education: Series of publications. Studies in history and politics . tape 302 . Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, Bonn 1991, ISBN 3-89331-111-4 (completely revised and updated edition: 1993).
  • Peace without justice? Israel and the human rights of the Palestinians . Böhlau, Cologne, Weimar, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-412-02694-8 ( watzal.com [PDF; accessed on November 23, 2012] with a foreword by Arnold Hottinger).
  • Enemies of peace. The conflict between Israel and Palestine, past and present . 1st edition. Aufbau-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-7466-8031-X .
  • Enemies of peace. The endless conflict between Israel and the Palestinians . Aufbau-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-7466-8071-9 ( watzal.com [PDF; accessed on November 23, 2012]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b CV / Vita
  2. ↑ Ludwig Watzal: Enemies of Peace. Deutschlandfunk, June 10, 2002
  3. ^ Website Ludwig Watzal .
  4. ↑ a b played down extremism. In: Hamburger Morgenpost. June 10, 2008
  5. ^ Anti-Semitism - Jews protest at Schäuble. In: Der Tagesspiegel. April 5, 2008
  6. ↑ A “great moment” in the German Bundestag: “Debate on Anti-Semitism” by Ludwig Watzal
  7. ↑ Karin Leukefeld: You can have your own opinion. In: Junge Welt , January 13, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Watzal, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German political scientist and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH 1950