CEU Stands Against Antisemitism and Defends Academic Freedom

2023-12-05 23:44:54

University is getting in contact with JöH to clarify misunderstandings and discuss further possibilities to help ensure students feel secure

Vienna (OTS) – We have been made aware of a statement from the Jüdische österreichische Hochschüler:innen (JöH), regarding claims of antisemitism at CEU. The statement is deeply wounding and constitutes a misrepresentation of CEU, its mission, its activities and values. We are in the process of contacting the JöH and of course are willing to discuss their concerns, and we are optimistic that we can clear misunderstandings. It is even more saddening, not least because CEU was founded by George Soros, who has been subjected to antisemitic campaigns over the past decades by a wide range of actors. It is ironic that the university that defended him against these accusations at the time, is now being subjected to the same.

CEU takes any incident or complaint of antisemitism seriously. Our communication to the community over the last few weeks has reiterated this. The President and Rector is in contact with CEU’s students who have expressed concerns, and meets with them directly and regularly to address these.

Democratic societies rest on academic freedom but also foster it. CEU’s founding mission in defence of open societies enjoins it to protect critical discussion, and the freedom to scrutinize competing ideas. Such academic freedom includes the freedom to dissent respectfully and to expound controversial ideas within the bounds of legality and civility.

It is essential that as a university we are able to create the space for a full discussion on all topics. CEU Departments have the freedom to organise and curate series and invite speakers with a diversity of intellectual and political positions, to help foster an environment in which various academic perspectives can be freely explored and debated within the bounds of legality. The Rector has organized a series of talks by CEU faculty on topics such as terrorism, antisemitism, the holocaust and humanitarian law, with the purpose of providing a forum for academic discussion.

To state one thing very clearly: We do not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. Antisemitism, and all forms of hate speech have no place at CEU. We work to ensure that all members of our community are treated with respect and have processes in place to ensure that our students can report any incidents of antisemitism as well as all other forms of ethnic or religious hate speech. These are dealt with by our internal mechanisms within the parameters set out by CEU’s Code of Ethics.

CEU has paid a high price for its commitment to academic freedom. We continue to stand for intellectual openness, tolerance of differences and plurality of perspectives that are often unbridgeable/irreconcilable. Being home to students from over 100 countries – and from diverse religions, languages and cultures – we recognize the wide variety of intellectual standpoints and political perspectives that our community members have on world events, which impact their lives.

We believe our primary duty as a university is to ensure a safe learning environment in which students learn how to weigh arguments, judge evidence and form informed opinions of their own. We have thus chosen to maintain principled restraint as an institution by not commenting on, or taking positions on, current affairs now and in future. This enables a diversity of individual opinions to be expressed within the university without fear of reprisal. We believe that fostering an environment where various academic perspectives can be freely explored and debated is crucial for educating young minds. This position on principled restraint as a guarantee of academic freedom, has been explicitly supported by the university’s Board of Trustees.

At CEU we continue to defend the ideal of a free academic community in which all members are able to debate and discuss painful issues in an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect.