Bavaria’s anti-Semitism commissioner Ludwig Spaenle has called on Bavarian universities to take decisive action against anti-Semitic actions and to take preventative action. “Where anti-Semitic actions take place, we have to take a massive stand against them,” said the CSU politician on Sunday in Munich.
In view of increasing pro-Palestinian protests worldwide, Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) had already called for universities to take consistent action against anti-Semitism. Anti-Israel and anti-Jewish actions have also taken place at German universities since October 7th. The universities must therefore publicly position themselves against anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, emphasized Spaenle. Among other things, you should pay close attention to the process when registering for events and check your statutes to see whether, for example, students could be expelled after violent attacks.
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, emphasized the importance of the culture of remembrance. “The memorials are the main pillars of education about Nazi injustice,” he said, according to a previously distributed speech manuscript on Sunday on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. “You can raise awareness of the need to advocate for peaceful social coexistence and thus strengthen the democratic attitude of every individual.”