The management of Charles University condemned last week’s protest in front of the Faculty of Humanities and defended expert Irena Kalhousová, who is the director of the Herzl Center for Israeli Studies. The initiative behind the protests appealed for her release. “Last week, an unannounced protest took place in front of the building of the Faculty of Humanities of the Charles University. Charles University supports legitimate forms of protest framed by the laws of the Czech Republic, but not activism,” the university management said in a statement.
The dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Věra Sokolová, has already distanced herself from the protest that took place last week in a statement. The group Academics Against Apartheid, which is behind the protest, shared a list of demands on social media. “We demand that our universities live up to the values they are committed to protecting and promoting… For justice, solidarity and a free Palestine,” the group said.
The list included, among other things, a demand that the UK reconsider the employment of the director of the Herzl Center for Israeli Studies at Charles University, Irena Kalhousová. “Charles University must reconsider the employment of people like Dr. Irena Kalhousová, who, although they claim to be impartial experts, parrot racist Zionist rhetoric in their teaching,” the group said. The syllabus of the courses must also be re-evaluated according to the group. “It must be ensured that the students attending the lectures are not offered only one point of view, and especially that it is not a point of view that is strongly problematic,” read the requirements.
Now the university management has also distanced itself from the method of protest and, apparently, the demands regarding Kalhousová’s work. “We are proud that our ranks include experts on world geopolitical events, often even originating from areas currently affected by conflicts, whether it is Ukraine or the Middle East. They thus articulate the plurality of opinions at Charles University and point to the complexity of the situation. One of them, for example, is the award-winning academic Dr. Irena Kalhousová from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the UK. We also greatly appreciate her open approach to an academically and professionally balanced debate,” the university said in a statement on its website.
In it, the management also comments on the unannounced protest from last week. “Charles University supports legitimate forms of protest framed by the laws of the Czech Republic, but not activism that can harm our ability to fulfill our academic mission and cause people in our community to feel bullied, threatened and afraid. Should the situation exceed reasonable limits, the university has an approved security plan for these cases. After the tragic event at the FF CU in December 2023, security measures have been increased in the premises of the CU for understandable reasons,” the university management said.
According to the management, the university as an academic institution cannot be a political actor entering into the solution of the geopolitical situation. “Of course, Charles University is aware of the suffering in the Middle East and is not indifferent to the tragic fate of civilians in this area. We hope that all parties involved in the conflict will do their best to find a peaceful solution. Although individual members of the Charles University academic community may hold different views on this conflict, our primary duty is to protect all our members and maintain a safe environment for teaching and research,” the statement continued.
Tags: Charles University stood Kalhous rejected demands protesters Palestine
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