The President of the Technical University of Berlin, Geraldine Rauch, apparently “liked” anti-Semitic tweets on the “X” platform. This is reported by the “Jüdische Allgemeine Zeitung”.
One of the tweets shows a photo of Turkish protesters who have painted a swastika on the chest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a poster. “Thousands of Turkish citizens are currently taking to the streets to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and condemn the operation in Rafah,” wrote the author of the tweet. The account has existed on the platform since 2023 and posts pro-Russian and pro-Hamas content.
The “Jüdische Allgemeine Zeitung” provides screenshots showing that TU President Rauch liked the post. Rauch has now apparently deleted her account.
The screenshots are particularly explosive because Rauch announced, after pro-Palestinian protests at the Technical University, that he would take a firm stand against anti-Semitism. “As a university, we want to be a safe place to study, research, work and exchange ideas,” said Rauch. Especially in times when anti-Semitism is on the rise, it is important for the TU to take responsibility and take action against it. At the demonstrations in the university area, slogans such as “Fuck you, Israel” were shouted and Israel was accused of committing genocide against the Palestinians.
Another screenshot shows that Geraldine Rauch also “liked” the following comment: “How do we argue the genocide in Gaza, which has already claimed the lives of over 13,000 children?” This is a user’s response to a tweet by Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP). In it, she shared an interview in which she called for anti-Semitism not to be tolerated at universities. Further screenshots show that TU President Rauch liked posts on “X” that describe Israel as a war criminal.
Just on Monday, the Central Council of Jews criticized the TU after the university appointed anti-Semitism researcher Uffa Jensen as the university’s anti-Semitism commissioner. A spokesman for the Central Council criticized the appointment and the statement by the TU president as bordering on ignorance towards Jewish students. “We would have expected more empathy and tact in selecting a person for this important position,” said the spokesman.
The anti-Semitism researcher has not proven in the past that he understands the situation of Jews. He is an opponent of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism and has not managed to credibly name the dangers of Muslim-influenced anti-Semitism after October 7, 2023. He had already attracted attention before with relativizations, including in relation to the Israel-critical boycott movement BDS or the Hamas slogan “From the River to the Sea,” according to the Central Council’s accusation.
The original of this article “University president apparently liked anti-Semitic tweets – and then deleted her account” comes from Tagesspiegel.