We are Munich Academics for Palestine, a group of scholars from various research institutes (including the LMU, TUM, Helmholtz and the Max Planck Society) who have organized to advocate for an immediate and permanent end to the aggression in Gaza. We recognize that research is an inherently political act, and that our work and the decisions of our academic institutions have far-reaching consequences that either benefit or harm society. As such, it is our obligation to speak about the humanitarian crises unfolding in Gaza over the last twelve months, destroying the entirety of the Gazan educational system and claiming 186,000 Palestinian lives. We strongly condemn the complicity and hypocrisy of German academic institutions, who have failed to uphold their values of freedom of speech and academic expression, instead punishing academics who publicly expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and who have failed to support their Palestinian employees during the ongoing aggression. Finally, we call on Bavarian academic institutions to strongly oppose recently passed legislation that forces academic institutions to cooperate with the German military and NATO, which could result in our research being used to advance the destruction of lives and environment around the world.
Our demands
- We call on our institutions to stand by their humanistic vocation and condemn violations of international law committed by Israel in Palestine and Lebanon.
- Immediate cessation of all research collaborations with Israeli universities and research institutions associated with the Israeli military.
- Furthermore, investigation of all research partnerships with the military-industrial complex and discontinue those found to violate international law and human rights.
- We call on our research institutions to oppose forceful cooperation with the German military, as recently adopted in the “Gesetz zur Förderung der Bundeswehr in Bayern,” and implement a civil clause instead.
- We ask for our institutions to implement positive actions for displaced Palestinian and Lebanese researchers and students, such as scholarships/fellowships, visa support, preparatory courses, and psychological support, like those offered to students displaced through international conflict or natural disasters.
How this concerns us
We are currently witnessing a humanitarian crisis that, according to the medical journal The Lancet, has claimed up to 186,000 Palestinian lives in Gaza alone. Multiple respected international organizations, including Amnesty International and the United Nations, have been constantly advocating for a ceasefire, resulting in a UN resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in March 2024, which was ignored by Israel. The International Court of Justice ruled in July 2024 that Israel’s occupation, settlement expansion, and natural resource exploitation since 1967 violate international law and that the Palestinian territories are one political unit. The ICJ mandates that all states refrain from providing aid or assistance in perpetuating the situation resulting from Israel’s illegal presence in the occupied territories. This decision also found Israel guilty of apartheid. More recent UN reports detail the deliberate destruction of the Gazan healthcare system and use of sexual and other violence against detainees and conclude that it is plausible that Israel is committing a genocide. Despite these rulings, the German government has refused to halt its military support, and as the second largest weapons exporter to Israel, is continuing to profit from gross violations of human rights.
As members of the international academic community, we find one aspect of the current conflict particularly concerning. A study produced by the UN Commission of Inquiry states that with “more than 80% of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, it may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as scholasticide”. Israeli shelling has destroyed more than 219 educational facilities in Gaza, killing more than 261 teachers, 95 university professors, and 5,479 students resulting in the fall of Gaza’s educational system completely. The utter devastation of Gaza’s school system means that both current and future Palestinian generations would be denied the right to an education, which violates both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the right to academic freedom.
German academia is complicit in restricting political expression
Similarly to the federal government, universities and research institutions across Germany are actively censoring and punishing scholars and students sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. This comes even though both academics and students supporting the Palestinian cause have been shown to be the “least antisemitic group in Germany”. Expressing solidarity with pro-Palestinian student groups and critiquing the Israeli government has resulted in scholars being suddenly fired, having professorial appointments revoked, and threatened with termination from leadership positions. These examples are reflective of the deep-seated hypocrisy of Germany’s research and higher education systems, where dedication to free expression is celebrated until it becomes politically inconvenient.
The bias, repression, and complicity of German academic institutions is also present in Munich. While the LMU, TUM, and Max Planck Society have affirmed their solidarity with the people of Israel and their continued cooperation with Israeli universities, they are silent in response to the unprecedented violence in Palestine and Lebanon. These institutions have proudly extended support to staff and students previously affected by international conflict or natural disasters, yet offer no similar accommodations to their Palestinian colleagues, and in fact have poured more resources into their collaborations in Israel, as opposed to multiple international academic institutions who have severed ties.
We are further shocked to see that none of the administrations of the Munich universities released a statement condemning the recent anti-Palestinian arson attack against students participating in the Palestine protest camp – an attack that could have resulted in serious injury or even casualties. While the student representatives of the LMU have condemned the attack, the LMU administration (or any other academic body) is yet to make a statement in support of their students. This unforgivable attack shows the growing hostility and violence that students at the encampment face, and we sincerely hope that the Munich universities will show their concern for the safety and well-being of their students.
Will YOUR research be militarized?
On 23 July 2024, the Bavarian government passed new legislation (“das Gesetz zur Förderung der Bundeswehr in Bayern”) which forces universities to cooperate with the German military and NATO. Strikingly, “tensions in Israel and Palestine” was cited as a reason for the law being needed, but it is unclear how forcing cooperation between Bavarian universities and the military will create any opportunity for peace, or positively improve the situation in Gaza and Lebanon in any way. Besides endangering the academic freedom of universities, which is anchored in the Basic Law (Article 5 Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law states: “Art and science, research and teaching are free. […]”) we see this law as a dangerous step which could implicate our work with the ongoing aggression in Gaza.
We further call on our research institutions to not only actively voice their opposition to the implementation of this legislation, but we ask Bavarian research institutions to implement a civil clause instead, ensuring that our research can and will only be used for the promotion of peace. Currently, over 70 universities in Germany have a so-called “Zivilklausel” (civil clause), a self-imposed commitment by academic institutions to conduct research exclusively for civil and peaceful purposes. This means that the university pledges not to engage in research activities or partnerships with entities related to the military or arms industry and includes rejecting third-party funding from such organizations. It is currently unknown if this new law will nullify existing civil clauses or revoke the right for academic institutions to enact a civil clause in the future.
The LMU, TUM, and MPG already have active collaborations with research partners of the Israeli military, as recently documented. We call on these organizations to immediately end these partnerships.
Conclusion
It is our responsibility as academics to address our research institutes and demand their support for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and Lebanon. It is our responsibility as academics to ensure that our research does not engage in war crimes and human rights abuses. The international community must condemn the ongoing Scholasticide and defend the right to academic freedom, including a freedom of choice in whether our research can be used for military purposes. Only through solidarity and a clear commitment to peace and human rights can universities live up to their social responsibility.
Join us in resisting state-sanctioned complicity in scholasticide and human rights violations!
If you are ready to take action to oppose German academic complicity in war crimes, join our movement today. We organize both educational and action-oriented events for students, professors and staff members alike. Whether you’re well informed or have just read this letter and know that you can no longer stay silent, we have resources and a community for you. Click here to learn more and join (you can do so anonymously as well).
Not quite ready to join, but want to make a difference? Sign the petition
