Matthias Monroy

Four parties want to table another motion in the Bundestag to combat anti-Semitism, this time in the field of education. Academics warn against an ‘attitude test’.

Last week, the German Bundestag passed a controversial anti-Semitism resolution, which also contains demands regarding educational institutions. Nevertheless, the Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals and the Christian Democrats are planning another motion, which the platform FragDenStaat has published. Entitled ‘ Firmly countering anti-Semitism and hostility towards Israel at schools and universities and securing free space for discourse’, it emphasises the need to strengthen research and education on Judaism and anti-Semitism. ‘Calls for boycotts, delegitimisation, disinformation and demonisation of the Jewish state’ must be prevented from gaining a foothold in educational institutions, the text says.

The motion calls for more intensive teaching about Israel, Jewish history and culture as well as the Middle East conflict in schools as well as teacher training programmes. Corresponding educational materials should be subjected to a ‘continuous quality analysis’. In addition, measures such as the German-Israeli exchange of pupils, teachers and students are to be expanded. Educational institutions are called upon to take decisive action against ‘threats and hostility’ towards Jewish and Israeli pupils, students and teachers and to intensify the ‘exchange between universities and security authorities’. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism is to serve as a benchmark for the assessment of anti-Semitic incidents.

The issue of anti-Semitism at universities has been particularly sensitive since the so-called funding scandal. Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (Liberals), who has since resigned due to the crisis under the governing coalition, had accused university members who criticised police operations on campus of anti-Semitism and hinted at a review of their funding.

The new motion also emphasises that openly anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic and anti-constitutional statements and actions can increasingly be observed at schools and universities ‘under the guise of freedom of expression’. Despite emphasising a ‘lively culture of debate’, the report states that the ‘driving forces behind protests at universities’ are hardly willing to participate in a free discourse.

According to the motion, these protests are often backed by small groups that ‘only partly’ consist of students or pupils. These include the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) as well as ‘similarly minded movements’, which, together with their supporters, should ‘have no place’ in German educational and academic institutions.

The Alliance for Critical and Solidary Science drew attention to the proposal on Monday. The initiative consisting of professors, researchers and lecturers came about after the German newspaper Bild labelled academics with reference to Stark-Watzinger as anti-Semitic ‘Universitäter’ (a play with the words ‘university’ and ‘perpetrator’), triggering a months-long critical debate.

In a statement, the Alliance welcomes the stronger fight against anti-Semitism at educational institutions, but criticises the fact that the motion ignores other forms of discrimination such as anti-Muslim racism. This could create a problematic prioritisation. In addition, the four Bundestag parties are focussing heavily on Israel and its history, while the Middle East conflict and the Palestinian perspective are hardly taken into account. This could lead to an unbalanced presentation in research and teaching, a statement of the Alliance reads.

The Alliance of University Members also warns against formulations in the proposal that could be interpreted as a call for an ‘attitude test’ when awarding research funding. The proposed increased security measures and legal consequences could also restrict freedom of discourse, they say. The exclusive fixation on the IHRA definition of antisemitism without including other definitions or critical perspectives could further restrict academic debate and jeopardise academic freedom.

‘The motion from the SPD, Greens, FDP and CDU/CSU parliamentary group breathes the same repressive spirit as last week’s anti-Semitism resolution,’ Left Party MP Nicole Gohlke told “nd”. The group’s spokesperson for higher education policy calls the reference to the controversial IHRA definition ‘one-sided’. In the motion, ‘free spaces for discourse would be filled with repressive sentiment and anti-Semitism and racism would be played off against each other’. If the text is put to a vote in the Bundestag, Gohlke intends to reject it. On the resolution on anti-Semitism, the Left Party had abstained.

Image: Education Minister Stark-Watzinger triggered with a quote in ‘Bild’ a months-long debate on academic freedom. The Bundestag could now cement its restriction (Screenshot/ BILD).