Middle East conflict: lawsuit against university – partial success for Jewish students

A Jewish student has achieved partial success with his complaint against the Free University of Berlin (FU) before the Berlin Administrative Court. In order to determine whether the university has taken sufficient measures to protect Jewish students, the judges want to continue the negotiation. This was announced by the presiding judge Edgar Fischer. This is expected to happen in October.

In February 2024, student Lahav Shapira was attacked and injured by a fellow student at a random encounter in Berlin-Mitte. Shapira accused the university afterwards that she does not take enough against anti -Semitic discrimination. This violates the Berlin University Act. Accordingly, universities are obliged to prevent discrimination.

Lawyer: Uni has to explain

Shapira’s lawyer Kristin Pietrzyk regarded the judge’s decision as a “great success”. “The court made it clear that the university has to explain,” she said. It will be revealing to hear what measures the university had taken.

Shapira said, “I’m glad that something will finally happen.” He would like the FU not to make any “empty promises”, the 32-year-old said. It is a success that the university must explain itself.

Fu refers to concepts

The FU denies to have been idle. The representatives of the university referred to a concept for anti -discrimination and diversity in court, as the law demands. There is also a “diversity and anti -discrimination against diversity” and an anti -discrimination statute. The lawyers applied for the lawsuit to reject Shapira’s lawsuit: she was too unconcrete.

However, the court sees the need for clarification – especially after the plaintiff Shapira made it clear how he felt impaired during his studies by the mood at the university. He made it clear that he also saw himself injured in his fundamental rights, said judge Fischer. Due to the abstract hazard situation in the context with the Middle East conflict, the negotiation took place in the better protected criminal court of Moabit.

Student does not feel safe on the FU site

Shapira, who is also a member of the Jewish community, stated in court that propalestinic groups had held anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic events on the FU site. Even today, an event on the university site is planned for student groups with the title “How we globalize intifada”, criticized his lawyer. “Jewish students have to perceive this as a threat.”

In the FU there was a mood that leads to discrimination against Jewish students, Shapira said. “In order to prove seminars, you have to be insulted,” said the teacher student in court. In some cases, he had been blocked. Jewish students are on their own.

Advice center: lawsuit has fundamental importance

From the point of view of the advice centers for affected rights, racist and anti -Semitic violence (VBR), the lawsuit is of fundamental importance. According to the university laws of the federal states, the universities are obliged to meet their responsibility and take measures to protect. “We therefore hope that the lawsuit before the administrative court will also have a sign of encouragement to students,” said Managing Director Heike Kleffner on the sidelines of the negotiation.

After the terrorist attack of Islamist Hamas on Israel in October 2023, there are regular demonstrations in the context with the Middle East conflict. There are also numerous protests at universities. Sometimes there were occupations and attacks. According to the research and information center Anti-Semitism (RIAS), significantly more anti-Semitic incidents have been registered at Berlin universities since the terrorist attack. In 2024, 51 incidents were documented.

Fontone convicted after attack

The Tiergarten district court had seen the attack on Shapira as an anti -Semitic act. In April it sentenced the attacker to a three -year prison sentence. The judgment is not final.

This Thursday is also planned for a trial against a 32-year-old in front of the Tiergarten district court, who is said to have denied access to a FU hearing room in a context in a context. The accused is said to have packed, pushed and insulted the Jewish students.