University of Cologne disinvites US philosopher over her criticism of Israel

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – Germany’s University of Cologne announced on Friday that it has disinvited US philosopher Nancy Fraser from a professorship due to her stance critical of Israel’s actions in the Gaza conflict.

In a statement, the university justified the step by citing Fraser’s decision to co-sign the "Philosophy for Palestine" open letter last fall.

“It is with great regret that the University of Cologne has canceled the events of this year’s Albertus Magnus Professorship 2024. The reason for this is the public letter ‘Philosophy for Palestine’ of November 2023, signed by the philosopher Professor Nancy Fraser, who was invited to take up the Albertus Magnus professorship,” the university said.

“In this letter, Israel's right to exist as an ‘ethno-supremacist state’ since its foundation in 1948 is called into question. The terror attacks by Hamas on Israel of 7 October 2023 is elevated to an act of legitimate resistance. The signatories call for the academic and cultural boycott of Israeli institutions,” it added.

Well-known German academics such as sociologists Stephan Lessenich and Hartmut Rosa and philosopher Axel Honneth condemned the decision as being incompatible with academic freedom.

In a statement, they said the move appears to be a further attempt to restrict the public and academic discussion on Israel and Palestine, with reference to supposedly clear red lines defined by the German government.​​​​​​​

Germany has been the scene of mass cancellations of pro-Palestinian demonstrations and political events over the past six months as a result of pressure by the Israel lobby.