The attack on FU student Lahav Shapira is fueling a political debate. Now the university is drawing conclusions. Berlin is also discussing a reform of the higher education law.
Berlin (dpa) After the attack on a Jewish student, the Free University of Berlin took action. The university announced that after the violent attack in Berlin-Mitte, which was allegedly anti-Semitic, the suspect was banned from entering the building to protect university members on campus. The house ban applies to the entire campus for three months and can be extended. Online teaching formats are not affected by the university’s decision, it said.
The Jewish FU student Lahav Shapira was hospitalized last weekend with broken bones in his face. A 23-year-old pro-Palestinian fellow student is said to have hit and kicked him on a street in Berlin-Mitte. The public prosecutor’s office assumes a targeted attack and an anti-Semitic background. The case has been shaking up the city for days and is also putting the management of the FU under pressure.
Reform of the Higher Education Act?
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) and Science Senator Ina Czyborra (SPD) announced a common line to protect Jewish students. If the current legal options are not sufficient, universities must be given additional, comprehensive instruments to ensure this protection, they explained after a joint discussion. This also includes a possible reform of the current higher education law.
The Central Council of Jews had suggested that Berlin’s Science Senator Ina Czyborra (SPD) resign. Central Council President Josef Schuster told the “Tagesspiegel”: “I am convinced that Ms. Czyborra is no longer suitable for her position.” Schuster criticized the senator for initially downplaying the process as a conflict and seeing no reason to change the Berlin Higher Education Act.
After the attack on Lahav Shapira, Czyborra called for the perpetrator to be banned from the FU Berlin, which is possible under the current legal situation. She initially rejected tougher rules or exmatriculation and called for sobriety in the debate.
Silent protest – vigil with Ricarda Lang
A few days after the attack, a silent protest at the Free University of Berlin highlighted the fears of Jewish students. According to police, around 100 people came to the action by the Fridays for Israel group – including Green Party leader Ricarda Lang, former Green Party politician Volker Beck and CDU politician Ottilie Klein. There were no incidents or counter-demonstrators.
Green Party leader Lang said on the sidelines of the vigil that it was “a signal against looking the other way.” It is important to act consistently and permanently against all types of anti-Semitism. Beck, now president of the German-Israeli Society, called on politicians to take action. It must be made legally possible to deregister violent criminals if necessary.
The group Fridays for Israel has been highlighting the concerns of Jewish students for weeks, said spokeswoman Clara von Nathusius of the German Press Agency. The management of the Free University “overslept a lot”. Only since the attack on Shapira has “something actually changed in the tone of the university management.”
FU President Günter Ziegler said on rbb’s radioeins that it was not easy to get the current conflict at the university under control. Hatred, agitation and violence are not acceptable, do not belong at the university and “of course not on campus,” Ziegler said in the interview. “With all the measures we have in place, we must primarily keep safety on campus in mind.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
