http://othersite.org/gabi-weber-the-truth-will-set-us-free/
Motto of the University of Freiburg, "Die Wahrheit
wird euch frei machen" (The Truth Will Set You Free – John 8,32)
University Building, West Side
THE TRUTH WILL SET US FREE?
I
was brought up in a country that believed itself to be open and
tolerant. Indeed after the Second World War Germany undertook to
transform guilt into responsibility.
For
me, it was always clear that our commitment to those "inviolable and
inalienable human rights(1)" as well as freedom of speech (2), were the
most precious values and lessons to be drawn from our problematic past. This
is why, three months ago, I was dismayed to discover that Freiburg
University, one of our oldest German universities, banned an event
hosting renowned Paris University Professor Christophe Oberlin who was
scheduled to talk about plastic surgery in Gaza.
Freiburg
University hosts all kinds of political events, especially and
regularly events organized by notorious Israeli Hasbara outlets such as
the German Israeli Society and the Zionist Anti-Deutsche.
And, if this is not enough, invitations to German Israeli Society
events are often publicised by the university, its official bodies and
its departments.
But
for some reason, for Freiburg University, freedom of speech and
tolerance seems to end when it comes to the plight of the Palestinian
people. The same university, which provides a platform for the German Israeli Society and the Zionist Anti-Deutsche
will not provide a platform for Freiburg Cafe Palestine – a
humanitarian non-political organization dedicated to the suffering of
the Palestinian. In fact, the same university banned Cafe Palestine’s
event hosting a prestigious French academic.
The official motto of the university,‘The Truth Will Set You Free’ is engraved
in shiny gold letters above one of the university's entrances, yet the
university itself is clearly terrified of the truth being told within
its walls.
We
have decided to raise the issue at the Administrative Court, in the
hope that this might lead the university to reflect on, and admit to its
dreadful decision. But what if Cafe Palestine loses this court case?
Well, then we would have to consider it as a crucial learning
experience from which we would have learned that powerful elements
within our society have changed their attitude towards truth, freedom,
tolerance, universal justice and intellectual exchange. And, if this
should prove to be the case, than the sooner we all face up to this
change, the better.
And
for me,
I surely would have to reassess my own attitude towards the
education of my three German-Palestinian children. I would have to think
very seriously about teaching them that they had better remain silent,
not only about the suffering of their own Palestinian people, but also
about injustice and human rights in general.
(1) Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 1, 2
(2) Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 5
Press Release Cafe Palestine Freiburg e. V.
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