John Keane Resigns as Fellow of the WZB Following Post on X

On November 28, 2023, John Keane, Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney, resigned as a professorial fellow of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung) via an open letter posted on the social media platform X. This action was prompted by an email sent by Jutta Allmendinger, president of the WZB, on November 21, 2023, which he posted alongside his letter.

In her email, Allmendinger referred to Keane’s October 7 post on X in which – according to Allmendinger – Hamas flags were depicted. After stating that he “must be aware” of Hamas’s status as a terrorist organization that had “murdered 1,400 Israeli civilians in the most barbaric way on the very day of [his] post,” she wrote that the post and an open letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney sent on November 6 “can only be understood as support for HAMAS and their actions.” After highlighting that this support “contradicts the values of the WZB” and is “possibly a criminal offense in Germany,” she asked: “Do you support the attacks on Israel on October 7? What is the meaning of your uncommented tweet of the flags of Hamas on the day of the attacks?” She closed by stating that if his explanation did not “amount to a condemnation of the cruel terrorist attack by Hamas,” his fellowship status with the WZB would be revoked.

In his response, Keane confirmed his resignation from the WZB after being associated with the center for 25 years, and emphasized that he condemns “all acts of violence.” He also highlighted that her questions were “self-answering allegations” that were “neither substantiated nor true.” He noted that at the time of his post on October 7, no news of the murder of 1,400 Israeli civilians had yet been released, and that the green flags depicted were not exclusive to Hamas. Additionally, he stressed that her “one-sided preoccupation with Hamas and official state-sanctioned definitions of 'terrorism' is deeply prejudiced” and asked why her “letter [is] silent about such vile matters as non-stop aerial bombardment, settler violence, the ruthless and reckless destruction of hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and universities, and crazed Israeli plans for the forcible removal of millions of people from their ancient homelands.” He also stated that she had “too hastily or willfully misread” his open letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney.

In a WZB statement dated November 30, 2023, Allmendinger reiterated the “real possibility that he condoned these attacks, in particular as [his] post remained online even as the full extent of the atrocities emerged.” She also restated the need to be “clear and unambiguous that the WZB does not condone Hamas’s horrific actions in any way.”