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Dec 64 min read

Statement on the cancellation of the event ‘The 1948 War and Jihad’ with Benny Morris

The disinvitation of historian Benny Morris, who was due to give a lecture at the Institute for Practical Theology on 5 December 2024 as part of the lecture series ‘Traditions and Present of Anti-Semitism’, is a scandal. Benny Morris is one of the most important Israeli historians. He has been researching the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for over 36 years and has published numerous standard works on the subject. As one of the central representatives of the ‘new historians’, he was part of a generation of Israeli academics who, following the opening of the Israeli archives, took a critical look at the founding of the state and drew a differentiated picture of the origins of the conflict. In the course of the second intifada, Morris revised his position on possible peace negotiations. Since then, he has been caught between two stools and has not shied away from criticising renowned colleagues. The fact that he has now been declared persona non grata by the University of Leipzig is unacceptable. Instead of allowing room for scientific exchange, the contradiction is being levelled.


The cancellation is justified with ‘controversial statements’ by Morris, requests from ‘various groups’ and ‘security concerns’. In the past, Morris has regularly commented on political events in Israel as a public intellectual, including in the left-liberal daily Haaretz. However, the official statement does not specify which of his statements led to his disinvitation. Instead, it refers with remarkable vagueness to the fact that his ‘recent’ statements ‘could be read as hurtful and even racist’[1]. In an interview with Haaretz on 1 December 2024, Morris explains that the statements in question, to which the cancellation presumably refers and in which he calls for a security fence or similar, were made in an interview two decades ago[2].


This was at a time when Israeli civilians were being massacred by suicide bombers on an almost daily basis. Morris apologised for his choice of words shortly after the interview in 2004, but rightly points out that the security fence that has since been erected between Israel and the Palestinian territories has prevented the overwhelming majority of planned attacks[3]. 7 October 2023 reminds us of the intentions of the invaders and the intolerable risk that an open border poses to the Jewish state. However, the uninvitation rules out such contextualisation and discussion from the outset, as it is not the positions of Morris himself that are considered valid, but only a particular reading.


At the same time, it is relatively clear which groups are behind the demand for a cancellation. Since 7 October 2023, groups such as ‘Students for Palestine’ have increasingly appeared on campus and around the university with anti-Jewish slogans. These groups had already called for the disinvitation of Benny Morris in an Instagram post on 15 November 2024[4]. Recently, they have increasingly succeeded in influencing the exchange of opinions at the university in an authoritarian manner. For example, the student group ‘Progressive Initiativ Wochen’ was recently stripped of its status as a student working group and thus its access to university infrastructure and funding. The group wanted to organise events critical of anti-Semitism at the beginning of the semester, which had previously been completely removed from the ‘Critical Introductory Weeks’ officially funded by the StuRa[5]. The debate on anti-Semitism was replaced by solidarity with the ‘Palestinian cause’, which usually refers to the threat of annihilation against Israel[6]. A lecture by Cyrus Shayegh on 5 December 2024 at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy also showed that double standards are applied when it comes to Israel: while Benny Morris was removed from the stage due to possible ‘offensive statements’, a prominent BDS supporter was invited to speak about 7 October of all things[7].


The cancellation by the university must be seen as a cave-in to these authoritarian and anti-Semitic groups.


The fact that the University of Leipzig, together with the police, who were also always present at previous events of the lecture series, is no longer in a position to ensure the safety of a renowned Israeli academic is either implausible or extremely worrying. In addition, external security services have already been used at the university for previous events, so a certain amount of experience should be available[8].


The decision to cancel the lecture with Benny Morris comes at a time when anti-Semitism is becoming increasingly open and aggressive - especially at universities. Jewish students are increasingly exposed to threats and harassment, which is why they avoid the campus due to pro-Hamas protests, for example, or hide their affiliation from their fellow students. Anti-Semitic slogans such as ‘Yallah Yallah Intifada’ can be heard more and more frequently and corresponding graffiti and stickers are now part of everyday university life. Academics who express pro-Israeli views are increasingly becoming the target of political intimidation and denunciation campaigns. The series of events organised by the Faculty of Theology took a critical look at these developments and attempted to approach the phenomenon of anti-Semitism from different perspectives in various lectures. The fact that the university is now allowing student groups to dictate who is allowed to speak on this topic and who is not is scandalous.


We do not accept this and demand solidarity with Benny Morris.

Supporters

  • Bündnis Israelsolidarischer Gruppen und Personen in Leipzig

  • TaMaR Germany e.V.

  • Gruppe Minus

  • Hochschulen Leipzig gegen Antisemititmus

  • Hentrich & Hentrich Verlag

  • MASARYK

  • Associazione Sapere Aude

  • Roter Salon im Conne Island

  • Jüdische Allianz Mitteldeutschland

  • Junges Forum (JuFo) der Deutsch-Israelischen Gesellschaft Leipzig

  • Antideutsche Kommunisten Leipzig




1 “VORTRAG ENTFÄLLT zum Thema: The 1948 War and Jihad”, https://www.theol.uni-leipzig.de/institut-fuer-praktische-theologie/veranstaltungsdetail/termin/the-1948-war-and-jihad.

2 https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2024-12-01/ty-article/.premium/german-university-cancels-lecture-by-leading-israeli-historian-following-student-protests/00000193-81ac-de89-abff-99ff0e1c0000.

3 https://www.haaretz.com/2004-01-08/ty-article/survival-of-the-fittest-cont/0000017f-e86d-da9b-a1ff-ec6fb5000000; https://www.haaretz.com/2004-01-22/ty-article/right-of-reply-i-do-not-support-expulsion/0000017f-e3d3-d75c-a7ff-ffdf6cba0000.

4 „Students for Palestine” auf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCaC45vu6Oy/?img_index=1.

5 „Flugschrift gegen den Entzug des AG-Status von PiWo und gegen die geplante Veranstaltung mit dem BDS-Unterstützer Dr. Christopher Parker am 16.12.24”,https://bigleipzig.wordpress.com/2024/11/26/nie-wieder-stura-nie-wieder-judenhass-gegen-die-kollaboration-mit-islamistischen-terrororganisationen.

6 https://kew-leipzig.de/event/introduction-to-the-palestinian-cause/.

7 https://www.sozphil.uni-leipzig.de/global-and-european-studies-institute/veranstaltungsdetail/termin/israel-staat-und-gesellschaft-ein-jahr-nach-dem-7-oktober; https://canarymission.org/professor/Cyrus_Schayegh.

8 https://nachrichten.idw-online.de/2024/11/15/eroeffnung-des-internationalen-graduiertenkollegs-belongings-zur-juedischen-materiellen-kultur.

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