After his controversial statements in his podcast with Markus Lanz, Richard David Precht is giving up his honorary professorship at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. This was preceded by a protest by students.
The writer Richard David Precht is giving up his honorary professorship at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. The university administration announced the writer’s move on Monday.
Leuphana University thanks Richard David Precht for his work
She respected this decision and thanked Precht for his great commitment and the work he has done for the university over many years. The Leuphana student parliament had previously called for an end to the collaboration after controversial statements by Precht. The students wrote that these were anti-Semitic statements.
Precht commented on Orthodox Judaism in the ZDF podcast “Lanz und Precht”. After criticism, the editorial team later removed the relevant passage in the episode of the weekly podcast with Markus Lanz. In the episode, Precht said that their religion forbids Orthodox Jews from working: “Except for a few things, like diamond trading and a few financial transactions.” Jewish organizations rejected this and accused Precht of spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Precht himself subsequently regretted that a formulation had been used that had caused offense and led to criticism. But it was not meant the way it was understood.
Source: Stern
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