The recent censorship, persecution, and threats faced by both German and non-German academics in Germany due to their critiques of Israel's state policies towards Palestinians are entirely unacceptable.
The public statements from Israel's state representatives and its military and political leaders unequivocally indicate their will to dispossess Palestinians of their land, colonize it, and engage in ethnic cleansing.
In essence, the State of Israel is pursuing a genocidal policy against Palestinians, aiming to strip them of their homeland.
The indiscriminate attacks on civilians, hospitals, and health centers, which amount to war crimes under international law, clearly demonstrate Israel's willingness to operate beyond any legal or ethical boundaries.
Instead of denouncing these actions or joining calls for a ceasefire alongside other nations, the German State's has chosen to provide unwavering support to the State of Israel, dismissing any criticism of these policies as absurd.
What is apparent and evident to the international community seems unrecognized by the German State.
Censorship efforts, cancellations of academic events, and threats of job loss or funding withdrawal against academics who speak out against these issues have become commonplace in German universities, cultural bodies, and governmental institutions.
German government and media platforms misuse Holocaust memories, conflating all criticism of Israel's state with antisemitism. Simultaneously, they propagate the baseless notion that Germany's immigrant population, particularly Muslims, are inherently antisemitic.
This represents a manipulation of German historical memory to silence dissent while fostering xenophobia and Islamophobia.
These developments coincide with the rise of new anti-immigration policies and an increase in supremacist, racist, and far-right political movements across Europe.
As international academics frequently interacting with our counterparts facing these challenges, we ponder the direction in which the German State and German universities are headed. Both seem to be forsaking pluralistic and democratic principles, opting for a singular narrative, persecuting those who challenge its policies, and censoring and stifling any discourse not aligned with the state agenda, thereby enabling the rise of xenophobia and genuine hate speech within its institutions.
We urgently call for an end to these censorship, persecution, and stigmatization trends and advocate for the restoration of respect for free academic, cultural, and intellectual expression.
Furthermore, we urge the German State to join the global demand for a comprehensive ceasefire and an end to the occupation, to adhere to international law, and to cease all political and discursive support for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people.
Arturo Escobar, Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, US
Gloria Wekker, Professor Emeritus Gender Studies, Faculty of the Humanities, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Yvonne Haddad, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University, US
Rita Segato, Professor Emeritus, University of Brasilia, Brazil
Salima Hashmi, Professor Emeritus, Beaconhouse National University, Pakistan
Alberto Gomes, Professor Emeritus, La Trobe University in Melbourne & Director of Global DEEP Network, Australia
Catherine Walsh, International Scholar, Ecuador/US
Rosalba Icaza, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Nelson Maldonado-Torres, International Scholar, US/Puerto Rico
Breny Mendoza, California State University, Northbridge, US
Sylvia Marcos, International Scholar, Mexico
Lisa Lowe, Samuel Knight Professor of American Studies and Professor of Ethnicity, Race, & Migration, Yale University, US
Zoe Todd
Helen Verran, Charles Darwin University, Australia
Erik Swyngedouw, Professor of Human Geography, the University of Manchester, UK
Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies, Columbia University, US
Andrea Cornwall, Professor of Global Development and Anthropology, King's College, London, UK
Svati Shah, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, US
Ariella Aïsha Azoulay
John Keane, Professor of Politics, University of Sydney, Australia
Laleh Khalili, Professor, University of Exeter, UK
Hoda Elsadda, Professor, Cairo University
Saeed Elmasry, Professor of Sociology, Cairo University, Egypt
Jodi Melamed, Professor, Marquette University, US
Don Kalb, Professor, University of Bergen, Norway
Sari Hanafi, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Cemil Aydin, Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US
Juliane Hammer, Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US
Alison Phipps, Professor, Newcastle University, UK
Julia Suárez-Krabbe, Associate Professor, Roskilde University, Denmark
Nikita Sud, Professor, University of Oxford, UK
María Eugenia Borsani, Professor of Political Philosophy, Universidad Nacional del Comahue / CEAPEDI, Neuquén, Argentina
Ramsey McGlazer, Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley, US
Sarah Bracke, Professor, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Rolando Vázquez, Professor, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jean Casimir, Professor, University of Haiti, Haiti
Rebecca Schneider, Professor, Brown University, US
Roderick A. Ferguson, William Robertson Coe Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and American Studies, Yale University, US
Tor Krever, University of Cambridge, UK
Mayssoun Sukarieh, King’s College London, UK
Alexander Dunlap, University of Helsinki, Finland & Boston University, US
Sascha Cornejo, [decoco] decolonial research group, Chile/Germany
Shamil Jeppie, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Dilip Menon, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Hassina Mouri, Professor, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Heidi Grunebaum, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
Meeta Rani Jha, University of California, Berkeley, US
Martijn de Koning, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Theo van der Meer, Independent Scholar, The Netherlands
Ochy Curiel Pichardo, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia
Yuderkys Espinosa-Miñoso, Instituto Caribeño de Pensamiento e Investigación Descolonial (INCAPID/GLEFAS), República Dominicana
Dinah Orozco Herrera, Harvard University, US
Lapoujade David, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France
Omar Jabary Salamanca, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Younes Saramifar, Vrije University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Rogier van Reekum, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Ana Ivasiuc, Maynooth University, Ireland
Paola Bacchetta, University of California, Berkeley, US
George Shire, Retired Academic and Independent International Scholar
Nadia Fadil, KU Leuven, Belgium
Tamara Soukotta, Radboud University/Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Anya Topolski, Associate Professor in Philosophical Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, Netherlands
Assem Dandashly, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, Maastricht University
Pascale Ghazaleh, Chair and Associate Professor of History, the American University in Cairo, Egypt
Penelope Papailias, Associate Professor Social Anthropology, University of Thessaly, Greece
Fotini Tsibiridou, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Macedonia-Thessaloniki
Felicity Callard, Professor in Human Geography, University of Glasgow, UK
Grace Kyungwon Hong, Professor of Gender Studies and Asian American Studies, UCLA, US
Eddie Bruce-Jones, Professor of Law, SOAS, University of London
Nikolas Kosmatopoulos, Assistant Professor of Politics and Anthropology, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Mohammed Bamyeh, Professor, University of Pittsburgh, US
Dina Heshmat, Associate Professor, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Nelly Hanna, Distinguished University Professor, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Fadi A. Bardawil, Duke University, US
Fida Adely, Georgetown University, US
Anaheed Al-Hardan, Howard University, US
Charlotte M. Sáenz, CIIS, Bay Area, US
Barbara Van Dyck, Coventry University, UK
Faisal Chaudhry, University of Massachusetts School of Law, US
Noha Aboueldahab, Georgetown University in Qatar
Sanaa Alimia, Aga Khan University, UK/Pakistan/Kenya
Ahmet Karapunar, European University Institute, Germany/Turkey
Fernanda Carvajal, UBA-CONICET, Argentina
Macarena Gómez-Barris
Lo Moran, Portland State University, US
Stathis Papastathopoulos, University of Ioannina, Greece
Milena Bonilla, Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam
Paul Mepschen, University College Utrecht, Netherlands
Alex Heffron, Lancaster University, UK
Joshua Makalintal, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Sadia Abbas, Rutgers University, US
Nina Köll, Utrecht University/UCU, The Netherlands
Berenice Bento, Professora Associada do Departamento de Sociologia, Brazil
Markha Valenta, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Konstantina Georgelou, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Shazia Rahman, University of Dayton, US
Christian Henderson, Leiden University
Anand Sheombar, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, The Netherlands
Alberto Daniel Teszkiewicz, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
James Beirne, Maynooth University, Ireland
Dan Weissmann, Bournemouth University, UK
Niels Niessen, Assistant Professor of Culture Studies, University of Tilburg, Netherlands
Anca Wilkening, Graduate Student and German Citizen, Harvard University, US
Chance Bonar, Tufts University, US
Lara Fricke, University of Exeter, UK
Luisa Steur, Associate Professor at the Department of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam
Damineh Vaezpour, Universität Hamburg
Danu Gontijo, Associate-Researcher, UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, University of Brazilia, Brazil
Sushila Mesquita, University of Vienna, Austria
Vincenzo Lauriola, INPA - Amazonia Research Institute, Brazil
Luiz Eduardo Soares - UFRJ - Brazil
Carolina Franch, Professor Universidad de Chile, Chile
Ines González de Prada, Facultad de Filosogia y Letras, Universidad de Bs As., Argentina
Lewis Turner, Newcastle University, UK
Alejandra Bello Urrego, Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia
José Luis Grosso, Centro Internacional de Investigación PIRKA / Universidad Nacional de Catamarca, Argentina
Henning Melber, Extraordinary Professor, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Roschanack Shaery, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Tiziana Terranova, Università di Napoli L'Orientale
Iain Chambers, Professor of Cultural, Postcolonial and Mediterranean Studies, Oriental University, Naples, Italy
Marina De Chiara, University of Naples L'Orientale, Italy
Laymert Garcia dos Santos, State University of Campinas (retired), Brazil
Lincoln Secco, Professor, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Annaclaudia Martini, University of Bologna, Italy
Georgia Twigg, Senior Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire, UK
Laura Maghețiu, CLaSP at Queen Mary University of London, UK
Marlene Schäfers, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Selin Çağatay, Central European University, Austria
Gwendolyn Kulick, German University in Cairo, Egypt
Eman Elbana, Helwan University, Egypt
Hanan Sabea, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Syed M Ali, Adjunct Professor, George Washington University, US
Carmen Hassoun Abou Jaoude
Mônica Dias Martins
Tina Lehnhardt
Nisrine Sinno
Stella Lee, US
Waleed Barakat, Helwan University, Egypt
Nike Dieterich, German University in Cairo, Egypt
Lotika Singha, Writer and Member, International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India, InSAF, India
Natasha Tanna, Lecturer in World Literature and the Co-Director of the Modern Research School, University of York, UK
Alexandra Viteri Arturo
Elva Orozco Mendoza, PhD researcher, Mexico/US
Simone Rowe, University of New South Wales, Australia
Karine Vanthuyne, Associate Professor, University of Ottawa
Siti Nur Hidayah, University of South Australia, Australia
George Ygarza, University of Pennsylvania, US
Norman Saadi Nikro
Dina M. Sidddiqi, Clinical Associate Professor, New York University
Alejandra Jaramillo Aristizabal, University of Auckland
Assel Tutumlu, Near East University, Northern Cyprus
Nadia Badran, German University in Cairo, Egypt
Quraysha Ismail Sooliman
Luciana Mendes Barbosa, Lancaster University, UK
Halima Shah, University College London, UK
Ana Pandal de la Peza
Christine Ayorinde, Independent Scholar, UK
Zaki Habib Gomez
Eva Willems, Ghent University, Belgium
Marianne Dhenin, Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte, Germany
Sandeep Bakshi, Université Paris Cité, France
marcela polanco, Associate Professor, SDSU, US/ Colombia
Carlos Azevedo, The Open University, UK
Simone Tulumello, University of Lisbon
Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir, Boğaziçi University, Türkiye
Bayan Haddad, Birzeit University, Palestine
Liz Morrish, Independent Scholar, UK
Doerthe Rosenow, Department of War Studies, King’s College London
Maria Juncos, Latino Education Institute, Worcester, MA, US
Clive Gabay, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Leila Mouhib, Université libre de Bruxelles & Université de Mons, Belgium
Torsten Menge, Northwestern University in Qatar
Aerin Lai, PhD researcher, University of Edinburgh
Faisal Hamadah, Assistant Professor of Postcolonial Studies, Maastricht
Gabriela A. Karasik, Centro de Estudios del Sur Andino, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, CONICET, Argentina
Brigitte Le Normand, Associate Professor of History, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Nisan Alici, Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland
Patricia Guernelli Palazzo Tsai, Universidade Metodista de São Paulo/University of St. Andrews UK, Brasil
Nidhi Srinivas, The New School, US
Gargi Bhattacharyya, University of the Arts
Claude Verges, University of Panama, Panama
Lukasz Dziedzic, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Takis Politis, Full Professor, University of Thessaly, Greece
Claire M Massey, Spain
Andrew Delatolla, University of Leeds, UK
Patrick Jaojoco, PhD Candidate, School of Architecture, Princeton University, US
Neni Panourgia, Columbia University, US
Muhannad Ayyash, Professor of Sociology, Mount Royal University, Canada
Antonis Vradis, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
Katharina Grueneisl, University of Nottingham, UK
Cindy Cruz, University of Arizona, US
Polly Pallister-Wilkins, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Fatima Sajjad
Penelope Quinton, King’s College London
Koen Stroeken, Ghent University, Belgium
Harry Pettit, Radboud University Nijmegen
Ludovico Rella, Durham University
Hela Yousfi, Université Paris Dauphine
Pieter du Plessis, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Fazil Moradi
Sarah Kunz, University of Essex, UK
Jairo I. Fúnez-Flores, Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies, Texas Tech University
Ana Carolina Díaz Beltrán, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Kiran Grewal, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
Ana Poças, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Sobia Kaker/Lecturer, University of Essex, UK
Tara Mahfoud, University of Essex, UK
Olivia Mason, Northumbria University
Samer Abdelnour, University of Edinburgh, UK
Jorge Vega, [decoco] decolonial research group, Mexico/Germany
Philipp Nolz, Université Paris 8, France
Michael Alszer, DAAD/UM5 de Rabat, Morocco
Daniel Segal, Jean M Pitzer Professor at Pitzer College of the Claremont Colleges
Laura Clancy, Lancaster University
Jonas Fossli Gjersø, Associate Professor, University of Stavanger, Norway
Wael Alkhatib, University of Gent
Wesam Wekhyan, University of Bath, UK
Raed AlSaleh German Jordanian University
Rana Sabri, GJU, Jordan
Yasser Munif, Emerson College, Boston
Mohammad Alhamas, UK
Friederike Haumann, Deutsch-Jordanische Hochschulen Amman, Jordan
Annapurna Menon, University of Sheffield
Rawan Ibrahim, Independent Scholar
Shawky Nasser, University of Northampton, UK
Hadil Kamal, AlQuds University, Occupied Palestine
Maud Anne Bracke, University of Glasgow, Scotland
Joshua A. Sabih, Roskilde University, Denmark
Ahmed Ibrahim Abushouk, Qatar University, Qatar
Mariam Al-Hammadi, Qatar University, Qatar
Yağmur Heffron, University College London, UK
Lachhab Mohamed, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
Waseem Ahmed, University College London, UK
Sozen Basturk, Independent Scholar, Denmark
Alessandro Corso, Research Associate at the University of Witwatersrand
Livia Perosino, PhD Candidate at Les Afriques dans le Monde (LAM) - Institut français du Proche Orient (Ifpo)
Francesco Correale, CNRS, UMR 7324 CITERES, Tours
William A. Booth, University College London, UK
Ohoud Kamal, American University of Madaba, Jordan
Mandy Turner, University of Manchester, UK
Ehab Galal, Associate Professor (Emeritus), University of Copenhagen
Lise Paulsen Galal, Roskilde University
Sara Ababneh, University of Sheffield, UK
Marina Calculli, Columbia University and Leiden University
Melanie Asdodi, German Jordanian University, Jordan
Robin Zheng, University of Glasgow
Estella Carpi, University College London, UK
Enrico De Angelis, Independent Researcher, Italy/Germany
Lamia Moghnieh
Ghassan Hage, University of Melbourne, Australia
Mattia Fumanti, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, The University of St Andrews
Uri Horesh, University of Essex
Shivani Kaul, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Veronica Ferreri, University of Waterloo, Canada
Butet Manurung, University of Amsterdam
Hassan Najmi, writer and poet, Morocco
Aydogan Kars, Australia
Rafał Krela
Helmut Krieger, University of Vienna, Austria
Stéphane Valter, Professor, University of Lyon 2, France
Jonas Ecke
Diego Ballestero, Bonn University
Esra Mungan, Bogazici University, Turkey
Kaoru Yamamoto, Keio University, Japan
Pável Aguilar, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Amir Moosavi, Rutgers University, US
Caner Ercan, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, US
Matthea Westerduin, KU Leuven
Hisham Abad, Purdue University Northwest
Abdulhamit Kırmızı, Marmara University, Istanbul
M. Imran Khan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Leandros Fischer, Assistant Professor, Aalborg University
Jack McGinn, London School of Economics
Adriana Capaldo, Universidad Academia Humanismo Cristiano, Chile
Alexandra Lopez, University of Amsterdam (UvA), The Netherlands
Johannes Waldmüller, Universität Wien, Austria
Yazan Badran, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Omar Da’na, Former Human Rights Education Programme Manager, Amnesty International, Jordan
Ana Abril, Central European University, Austria
Anna Meier, University of Nottingham, UK
Melanie Richter-Montpetit, Associate Professor, University of Sussex, UK
Cathy-Mae Karelse, Independent Scholar
Noor Blaas, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Omar Núñez, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México
Geoffrey Aung, University of Vienna, Austria
Edson Krenak, Cutural Survival USA/Brazil
Birgit Kaiser, Utrecht University
Manuela Ciotti, Professor, University of Vienna
Layal Ftouni, Assistant Professor, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Kathrin Thiele, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Maira Arriagada Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Juliane Müller, University of Barcelona
Jennifer Manikkam
Domitilla (domi) Olivieri
Masoud Kamali, Professor of Sociology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University
Lusvic Torrellas, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile.
Joel Sandoval Lopez, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile.
Wesam Amer, Dean of Faculty of Communication and Languages, Gaza University
Soledad Araya Pérez, Pedagogía en inglés, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago de Chile
Masato Tanaka, PhD Candidate, Universität Heidelberg, Germany/Japan
Mary Jane Abrahams, Associate professor., U. A. Hurtado, Santiago, Chile
Lioba Hirsch, University of Edinburgh, UK
Spencer Adams, LMU, München, Germany
Asli Zengin, Rutgers University, US
Jason Hickel, Professor, ICTA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Amira Mittermaier, University of Toronto
Francois Jonker, Cape Town Creative Academy
Ahmed Tarek, Michigan State University, US
Alejandra Gonzalez Jimenez, University of Toronto
Maria Luz Trautmann, Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Chile
Nermin Elsherif, lecturer and postdoc researcher, University of Amsterdam
Magdalena Górska, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Prince Guma, Research Associate, University of Sheffield
Shahid Vawda Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town
Irene van Oorschot, Assistant Professor Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Nashwa Abdel-Tawab, Egypt
Saleem Badat, Professor, University of the Free State, South Africa
Nasima Badsha, South Africa
Salim Vally, Professor, University of Johannesburg
Ruba Salih, Professor of Anthropology, University of Bologna
Ntando Sindane, University of the Free State, South Africa
Sarah Farag, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Martín Arboleda, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile.
Aslam Fataar, Professor, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Amparo Baquerizas, Lecturer, German University in Cairo
Adam Tooze, Columbia University NY
Vitória da Silveira, UFSC, Brazil
Sarah Irving, Staffordshire University, UK
Nina C. Krickel-Choi, Lund University, Sweden
Sana Tannoury-Karam, Lebanese American University
Lucas Alcazar, Independent Researcher, Paraguay
Fatima Alvarez Castillo, Professor, University of the Philippines
Tamara El Khoury, Adjunct Professor of Constitutional Law, IE University, Spain
Ilaria Giglioli
Adam Ferron, Edinburgh University, UK
Penny Green, Queen Mary University of London
Damien Short, UK
Elena Vezzadini, CNRS, Paris
Arnesa Buljusmic-Kustura, Genocide Studies Lecturer, UK
* We respected the signatories' choices on their representation, with or without institutional ties, and without regard to national entities.
The writing team removed the names of the majority of signatories living in Germany as a precautionary measure due to the escalating environment of persecution.
