The Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October of last year and Israel’s military reaction to this attack have caused the long-simmering conflict in the Middle East to take on a new and alarming dimension.
In recent weeks, pro-Palestinian protest activities related to the war in the Middle East have been carried out at universities across Germany, including occupations and protest camps in and in front of university buildings. In Hannover as well, an application to conduct a protest and set up an accompanying camp has now been submitted to the police and approved by the official agency responsible for regulating public assemblies and demonstrations. The protest camp will take place from 8 to 22 June 2024 in front of the main Leibniz University Hannover building (Welfenschloss). According to the organiser, the goal of the camp and the demonstration, titled “Germany for Free Palestine”, is to “provide information about the situation in the Middle East and raise awareness of the necessity of a peaceful solution.”
The management of Leibniz University Hannover would like to make very clear that it is not the organiser or a supporter of this action. The protest is not connected to the university in any way.
The freedom of assembly guaranteed by the constitution is a central component of our liberal democratic order. Even as the owner of the premises, the university has no basis for prohibiting gatherings, demonstrations or protests of any type that take place outdoors – with or without a connection to the university – as long as their content is in line with the constitution and they comply, for example, with adequate security and hygiene standards. The university management and the responsible units within the university administration are in close contact with the police, who will be monitoring the protest camp and ensuring adherence to strict conditions with respect to noise, garbage and the constitutionality of political statements.
As an open and welcoming place of research, teaching and learning, it is important to Leibniz University Hannover that all of our members and visitors – regardless of their origin or faith – experience it as a safe environment in which to do these things.
In January, Leibniz University Hannover endorsed a statement from the Lower Saxony State Rectors’ Conference: The universities in Lower Saxony represent a diverse and cosmopolitan Germany that is based on the values of the constitution. They stand in support of the liberal democratic order and strongly oppose all activities and efforts characterised by anti-science hostility, racism, intolerance and exclusion. Leibniz University Hannover is a place of dialogue, democratic culture and diversity. It resolutely opposes any form of anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance.
