Police clear area
Protests at the FU Berlin: Students demand solidarity with Gaza – teaching is partially suspended
A demonstrator from the “Student Coalition Berlin” group is led away from the theater courtyard of the FU Berlin
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnow / DPA
The protest against the war in the Middle East has reached German universities. Activists occupied a courtyard at the Free University of Berlin for a few hours. Until the police clear the area.
Around 100 pro-Palestinian activists temporarily occupied a courtyard at the Free University in Berlin on Tuesday. The Police cleared the area in the afternoon. The university had previously announced rapid action. “The FU ordered the evacuation and called the police,” said a spokeswoman.
The occupiers of the theater yard called for solidarity with the people of Gaza. For this purpose, they also set up tents on the university grounds in the Dahlem district. “We are occupying the Free University of Berlin,” it said in a speech. This is done in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The actions of the Israeli army in Gaza were criticized. This required immediate reactions and international solidarity, it was said to justify the protest. The group, acting as the “Student Coalition Berlin,” called for the occupation of German universities and student resistance in solidarity with Gaza.
Protests at FU Berlin – between slogans and damage to property
Slogans like “Viva, viva, Palestine!” were heard. Posters called for a strike as a form of resistance. Flags with the Palestinian colors could be seen. Police spokesman Michael Gassen said that forbidden slogans were also shouted. This is documented by the police, the people are identified and procedures are initiated.
The area was initially cordoned off and monitored by the police; other activists were not allowed through. In the early afternoon, individual groups of demonstrators were escorted from the site. Eventually the camp itself was evacuated. After repeated requests to leave the area, the emergency services began to remove individual participants. On the sidelines, there were individual scuffles between police forces and people from neighboring university buildings.
The university partially stopped teaching. “This form of protest is not aimed at dialogue. Occupation is not acceptable on the grounds of the FU Berlin. We are available for scientific dialogue – but not in this way,” said university president Günter Ziegler in a statement.
According to the university, activists from the protest camp also attempted to break into rooms and lecture halls at the university in the course of the morning in order to occupy them. The group, which says it is made up of students from various Berlin universities and other people, has asked other students and professors to take part. The group made demands but rejected any dialogue or negotiations.
There was damage to property. The university has filed criminal charges. Teaching operations in the Rust, Silver and Holzlaube buildings have been discontinued. The libraries in these buildings and the cafeteria were closed.
War in the Middle East
People on the run, Israel’s flag on the tank: the invasion of Rafah in pictures
Critical voices from politics
Berlin’s Science Senator Ina Czyborra (SPD) does not want to tolerate such occupations. “In principle, it is legitimate to demonstrate against war, but not in the form of protest actions like three days ago at the HU and today at the FU, which are aimed at confrontation and not dialogue,” she told the German Press Agency. She emphasized: “Berlin’s universities are safe. The universities are clearly positioning themselves against anti-Semitism and are also taking action against it.”
On Friday, activists protested at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Around 150 people came together for an unregistered rally. The protesters demanded a lecture hall as a rally location, which the university management did not grant. As a result, the police initiated 37 investigations into possible cases of sedition and resistance to law enforcement officers.
In the USA, there have been protests at numerous universities for more than two weeks against Israel’s actions in the Gaza war and for solidarity with the Palestinians.
The background is the unprecedented massacre with more than 1,200 deaths that terrorists from Hamas and other groups carried out in Israel on October 7th. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. Given the high number of civilian casualties and the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel has come under international criticism.