Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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The Palestine Test for German Universities
Police at the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) on May 7, 2024, cordon off students as they demonstrate against Israel's war in Gaza and the university dismantles their protest tent camp in a campus courtyard. Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

The Palestine Test for German Universities

In February 2025, Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) cancelled a planned lecture by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. The university cited polarization and security risks after intense political pressure from Berlin’s governing mayor and several pro-Israel advocacy groups.
Jannis Julien Grimm, Lilian Mauthofer • 14 min read
After the Encampments—A Roundtable with Student Organizers on Palestine, the University and What Comes Next
Students gather for a pro-Palestinian rally, and to protest against their university president Minouche Shafik, on Low Steps at Columbia University, NYC, January 19, 2024. Gabriella Raine Gregor-Splaver
Academic Freedom

After the Encampments—A Roundtable with Student Organizers on Palestine, the University and What Comes Next

For issue 318, Campus Politics—Palestine and the New University Order, MERIP editorial committee member Maya Wind organized a roundtable with six student activists representing five student collectives from Europe and the United States: Marilù with Collettivi Autorganizzati Universitari (Italy); Marie with Stop Academic Complicity Collective (France); Aesop with KCL
Maya Wind, Students from Collettivi Autorganizzati Universitari (Italy), Stop Academic Complicity Collective (France), KCL Stands for Justice (UK), UCI Rank and File (USA), Academic Opposition (Germany) • 17 min read
‘The University Is a Site of Struggle’—A Roundtable with Faculty Organizers on Repression and Resistance on US Campuses
UCLA faculty join student protesters in support of Palestine, April 29, 2024. David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
Academic Freedom

‘The University Is a Site of Struggle’—A Roundtable with Faculty Organizers on Repression and Resistance on US Campuses

As part of MER issue 318, Campus Politics—Palestine and the New University Order, MERIP editor Lisa Hajjar organized a roundtable with faculty organizers and a legal advocate. Lara Deeb is professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies at Scripps College and serves as co-chair of the Middle East
Lisa Hajjar, Lara Deeb, Darryl Li, Andrew Ross, Meera Shah • 23 min read