Ronen Steinke (born 1983) is a German political journalist and author whose essays and books on issues of law and society have been discussed in The Times,[1] The Guardian,[2] Haaretz,[3] De Volkskrant,[4] Le Figaro,[5] The Asahi Shimbun and The New York Review of Books.[6] In 2013, Steinke published the biography of the German-Jewish prosecutor Fritz Bauer, who secretly worked with the Mossad and brought Nazi war criminals to justice in the 1960s.[7] The book, which received a preface by the President of the German Supreme Court, inspired the award-winning 2015 film The People vs. Fritz Bauer.[8]

Education

Steinke was educated at Bucerius Law School, Hamburg, and Temple University, Japan Campus, Tokyo, and holds a doctorate in international criminal law, praised as a "masterpiece" by the European Journal of International Law.[9] From 2012 to 2013 he was a visiting scholar at Frankfurt University's Institute for Holocaust Research.

Career

As legal affairs editor with Germany's leading broadsheet, Süddeutsche Zeitung, he since frequently writes columns and essays on German politics and society.[10] Along with a group of lawyers and scholars, Steinke edits an annual report on right-wing extremism in Germany.[11] The Legal Tribune[12] referred to him as „currently the most important and most productive legal journalist in Germany."[13]

After the Halle synagogue shooting in 2019, Steinke, who is himself a German Jew, published a critique of what he claims is the failure of the German state to address violent antisemitism.[14] This was named one of the top 3 non-fiction books by Die Zeit.[15]

„Ronen Steinke (…) studied the issue in depth after the Halle attack, and found that too often Jews are left to avert the danger of possible assaults themselves. In his book "Terror Against Jews," published earlier this year after he visited more than 20 Jewish communities around the country, Steinke found that while authorities are helpful with making security assessments, the communities themselves are often left to implement the official suggestions."[16] – Times of Israel

Asked whether Jews should consider emigrating to Israel, Steinke said in an interview with public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk: „I am in favour of people leaving Germany due to rising antisemitism. But it should be the antisemites who leave. I hear there's room on the North Pole."[17]

This was followed by a book-length essay by Steinke in 2020 on antisemitic tropes in the present-day German language.[18]

Steinke's account of the story of Mohamed Helmy,[19] the first Arab to be honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem,[20] was translated into seven languages and named book of the week by the Observer in 2021.[21]

His most recent work, an exploration of social injustices in the German prison system, which Steinke published in 2022, rekindled a wider debate on the need for criminal justice reform in Germany. The Legal Tribune wrote in its review: "Ronen Steinke is currently the most important and most productive legal journalist in Germany."[13]

Reacting in July 2022, the Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann, announced he would soften the rules on imprisonment for failure to pay a fine. Calls for more radical reform persist, though.[22] Steinke advocates to stop imprisoning offenders who are unable to pay a fine through no fault of their own, as in Sweden,[23] and to make the right of an accused to a public defender unconditional, as in the US.[24]

Other activities

Selected works

The Politics of International Criminal Justice. Hart Publishers, Oxford 2012

Fritz Bauer: The Jewish Prosecutor Who Brought Eichmann and Auschwitz to Trial. Trans. Sinéad Crowe, Indiana University Press 2020. (Original: Fritz Bauer. Oder Auschwitz vor Gericht, Piper, Munich 2013)

Anna and Dr. Helmy. How an Egyptian Doctor saved a Jewish Girl in Hitler's Berlin, Trans. Sharon Howe, Oxford University Press, 2021 (Original: Der Muslim und die Jüdin, Berlin 2017)

Terror gegen Juden. Wie antisemitische Gewalt erstarkt und der Staat versagt, Berlin Verlag, Berlin, 2020.

Antisemitismus in der Sprache, Duden Verlag, Berlin 2020'.

Vor dem Gesetz sind nicht alle gleich. Die neue Klassenjustiz, Berlin Verlag, Berlin, 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Joseph, Anne. "How an Arab doctor saved a Jewish Girl in Hitler's Berlin by Ronen Steinke — a remarkable story of courage" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "Anna & Dr Helmy by Ronen Steinke review – the Schindler of the surgery room". the Guardian. 26 December 2021.
  3. ↑ "Secret Life of the German Judge Who Brought the Mossad to Eichmann". Haaretz.
  4. ↑ Lindhout, Sterre (20 July 2020). "Schrijver Ronen Steinke: 'De Duitse staat kijkt weg van terreur tegen Joden'". de Volkskrant.
  5. ↑ "Antisémitisme: d'où vient cette haine?". LEFIGARO. 17 July 2020.
  6. ↑ Motadel, David. "Nazis on the Run | David Motadel" – via www.nybooks.com. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  7. ↑ Fritz Bauer: The Jewish Prosecutor Who Brought Eichmann and Auschwitz to Trial. Trans. Sinéad Crowe, Indiana University Press 2020. (Original: Fritz Bauer. Oder Auschwitz vor Gericht, Piper, Munich 2013)
  8. ↑ Jaworowski, Ken (18 August 2016). "Review: Treasonous Play for Justice in 'The People vs. Fritz Bauer'". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  9. ↑ Kemmerer, Alexandra (2012). "Review: Ronen Steinke's The Politics of International Criminal Justice" (PDF). European Journal of International Law: 1190–91. doi:10.1093/ejil/chs066.
  10. ↑ "Ronen Steinke – Süddeutsche Zeitung". Süddeutsche.de.
  11. ↑ ""Recht gegen rechts. Report 2020" – Bestandsaufnahme der Justiz". Deutschlandfunk Kultur.
  12. ↑ "LTO.de – Legal Tribune Online – Aktuelles aus Recht und Justiz". Legal Tribune Online.
  13. 1 2 "Rezension: 'Vor dem Gesetz sind nicht alle gleich'". Legal Tribune Online.
  14. ↑ Terror gegen Juden: Wie antisemitische Gewalt erstarkt und der Staat versagt. Eine Anklage, Berlin Verlag, Berlin 2020.
  15. ↑ "ZEIT ONLINE | Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl". www.zeit.de.
  16. ↑ Grieshaber, Kirsten. "A year after Yom Kippur synagogue attack, German Jews remain uneasy". www.timesofisrael.com.
  17. ↑ Ronen Steinke, Bayerischer Rundfunk (9 November 2021). "Antisemitismus in Deutschland: "Keinen Millimeter zurückweichen"" – via www.br.de. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ↑ Antisemitismus in der Sprache: Warum es auf die Wortwahl ankommt, Dudenverlag, Berlin, 2020.
  19. ↑ Anna and Dr. Helmy. How an Egyptian Doctor saved a Jewish Girl in Hitler's Berlin, Trans. Sharon Howe, Oxford University Press, 2021 (Original: Der Muslim und die Jüdin, Berlin 2017)
  20. ↑ "Book review: Ronen Steinke′s ″Der Muslim und die Judin″ : Mohammed Helmy, ′Righteous among the Nations′ – Qantara.de". Qantara.de – Dialogue with the Islamic World. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  21. ↑ "Observer book of the week | Books | The Guardian". the Guardian.
  22. ↑ Rath, Christian (5 July 2022). "Ersatzfreiheitsstrafen in Deutschland: Nur noch ein halber Tag im Knast". Die Tageszeitung: Taz – via taz.de.
  23. ↑ Ronen Steinke, „Vor dem Gesetz sind nicht alle gleich", 2022, p.205
  24. ↑ Ronen Steinke, „Vor dem Gesetz sind nicht alle gleich", 2022, p.200; see also: Ronen Steinke, „Pflichtverteidiger für alle!", op-ed in: Deutsche Richterzeitung 2021, vol.9, p.326.
  25. ↑ "Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Trustees". csl.mpg.de. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
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