The Association of Palestinian and Jewish Academics is greatly alarmed by Freie Universität Berlin’s cancellation of the event featuring Francesca Albanese, scholar of international law and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Eyal Weizman, scholar of architecture and founder of Forensic Architecture, scheduled for 19th February, 2025. This decision reflects a broader pattern in Germany, where voices advocating for Palestinian rights and critical scholarship on Israeli policies are increasingly silenced. As scholars, we are particularly alarmed by the political repression of a discourse on international law, human rights, and historical and present accountability.
Freie Universität Berlin’s cancellation of this event due to both concerns of “security” and “polarization” of opinions suppresses critical debate. Moreover, the university irresponsibly uses censorship to fuel the demonizing rhetoric that characterizes current political and public debates on antisemitism and Palestine/Israel that ignore facts, evidence, and the norms of international and German law. Disinviting Albanese and Weizman furthers a dangerous pattern of repression at universities (one recent example being the cancellation of Albanese’s talk at TU München) with serious implications for Germany’s commitment to academic integrity, constitutional and international law.
As Palestinian and Jewish scholars with expertise in a broad range of disciplines, we witness Germany’s increasing international isolation, academically and beyond. By denying a UN Special Rapporteur the opportunity to speak, important and necessary discussions about key concepts and principles of international law are dismissed as illegitimate and banned, such as genocide; the illegality of occupation; annexation; segregation; apartheid; and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people (all of which are part of ICJ cases). The cancellation of Eyal Weizman is equally concerning. By denying a Jewish researcher the opportunity to engage in an academic discussion with a leading figure of international law, FU affirms the discriminatory nature of the current discussion on antisemitism, namely one that excludes critical Jewish voices.
We stand up for the rights of our fellow academics to insist on educating and discussing violations of international law, more so within publicly funded institutions legally bound to uphold academic freedom as enshrined in Article 5, para.3 of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz). We call on FU to reaffirm its commitment to academic freedom, refuse to bow to political pressure coming from ambassadors and lobbyists, and open up debate to ensure that scholars are afforded the right to present their research and insights without fear of political interference or censorship.
Association of Palestinian and Jewish Academics (PJA)
Association of Palestinian and Jewish Academics 