The president of the Technical University of Berlin is said to have liked controversial X-posts in connection with the Gaza war. This is causing outrage and political pressure. The person criticized is reacting.
The President of the Technical University of Berlin, Geraldine Rauch, has apologized after political pressure for liking controversial posts about the Gaza war on the Internet. Shortly before, Berlin’s Science Senator Ina Czyborra had announced that she had expressed the “clear expectation” of a public clarification in a personal conversation with the professor.
“I have ‘liked’ some tweets on the X platform that address the situation in Gaza and Rafah, but which have anti-Semitic content or origins,” the scientist admitted in a statement. She wants to clearly distance herself from the anti-Semitic content or authors of the X postings.
Your X-Account has now been deleted
According to media reports, Rauch is said to have “liked” posts on the X platform in which, among other things, the war in Gaza was described as genocide or Israel as a war criminal. Her X account has since been deleted, so her likes there cannot be easily traced.
According to media reports, Rauch is said to have “liked” posts on the X platform in which, among other things, the war in Gaza was described as genocide or Israel as a war criminal. Her X account has since been deleted, so her likes there cannot be easily traced.
She also wrote that she liked a tweet because of its text and did not look closely at the image posted underneath at the time. “This was a mistake for which I would like to sincerely apologize, as this image uses symbols and equations that I do not adopt and that I strongly reject.” She was referring to a post with photos of demonstrators holding up an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a swastika painted on it.
Senator Czyborra had previously stated: “There must never be any doubt that Berlin’s universities distance themselves from all forms of violence and anti-Semitism and stand up for democratic values. Against this background, our political statements, whether private or official, must be chosen very carefully and cautiously. I also expect this, and in particular, from representatives of Berlin’s higher education landscape.”
The Federal Government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, also commented. He said he could understand that Jewish students “and all those who do not want to accept anti-Semitism on campus” were shocked by Rauch’s behavior, as he told Bild. “How can Jewish students trust their safety to a university president when she likes statements that reflect precisely the anti-Semitism that means many universities are no longer safe places for Jews?”
New anti-Semitism commissioner also faces criticism
The TU is currently also under criticism for the appointment of its new anti-Semitism commissioner, Uffa Jensen. The Central Council of Jews called the appointment “a disappointment” in a press release and accused the historian, among other things, of being an opponent of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. Jensen responded in a statement that he had criticized the definition for good reason, “like many of my Jewish colleagues.”
Source: Stern
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