Humboldt University
Pro-Palestinian activists want to occupy university for longer
Protest by pro-Palestinian demonstrators in front of the Institute for Social Sciences at Berlin’s Humboldt University. photo
© Soeren Stache/dpa
Pro-Palestinian activists want to occupy rooms at Berlin’s Humboldt University until their demands are met. The protest is met with criticism – and there are criminal charges.
Pro-Palestinian activists want to use the spaces of the Berlin According to a representative, occupy Humboldt University until their demands are met. In the afternoon, during a planned discussion event, the aim was to negotiate with the university management about an extension of the occupation, explained the spokeswoman for the German Press Agency. The protest has met with criticism from the Berlin CDU parliamentary group and the police union.
Activists occupied rooms in the university’s Social Sciences Institute on Wednesday in protest against Israel and in support of the Palestinians. In addition, according to police information, around 320 people came together for an unannounced rally. During the protests, 23 pro-Palestinian activists were briefly arrested to determine their identities. There were 18 men and five women, the police said.
25 criminal investigations were initiated, including for the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations, damage to property and resistance against law enforcement officers. One police officer was injured during the operation but was able to continue his service.
“It’s a dynamic situation”
According to the activist spokeswoman, around 100 people from various Berlin universities stayed overnight at the occupied Social Sciences Institute. They are allowed to continue their protest until Thursday evening. According to university spokeswoman Christiane Rosenbach, the occupation is tolerated until 6 p.m. She couldn’t say what the next steps would be. “It’s a dynamic situation,” she said.
The Berlin police are currently present in front of the occupied institute. Activists are standing in front of the building – some of them masked with Palestinian scarves. Banners are hanging on the building, including one with the inscription “Free Palestine”.
CDU sharply criticizes
Tolerating the occupation is wrong because it could be misunderstood as an encouragement for further crimes, explained Burkard Dregger, domestic policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives. “There is no place for hatred and anti-Semitism in Berlin and at our universities. We will not allow errant activists to abuse our research institutions as a stage,” he emphasized. The CDU’s science policy spokesman, Adrian Grasse, said: “A small group of deluded, inhumane anti-Semites have been discrediting the excellent reputation of our universities since October 7th. That’s why we must not tolerate anything, nor look the other way, but rather hold those responsible to account.”
Criticism also came from the police union: “The autonomy of teaching is important and universities in particular should be seen as places of exchange and discussion,” stressed spokesman Benjamin Jendro. But that is no basis for legitimizing action outside the democratic framework, shouting anti-Semitic and contemptuous slogans, holding up anti-constitutional posters and committing property damage.
Occupiers accuse Israel of “genocide”
The conflict in the Middle East has now reached German universities. There are repeated protests against Israel’s actions in the Gaza war and student actions in solidarity with the Palestinians. An occupation at the Free University of Berlin a few weeks ago was broken up by the police.
The occupiers of the group called Student Coalition Berlin accused Israel of “genocide” and “ongoing mass murders” in a statement. It’s about “unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian people.” Among other things, they demand that Berlin universities work for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire from Israel and put pressure on the German government. This should impose an arms embargo against Israel and end all military, financial and diplomatic aid to Israel.
After the Hamas massacre with more than 1,200 deaths in Israel on October 7, more than 35,000 Palestinians died in the Gaza war that followed, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, although the number, which is difficult to independently verify, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.