University of Cologne Disinvites Jewish-American Philosopher Nancy Fraser from Visiting Professorship Over Her Signing the Open Letter Philosophy for Palestine.

On April 5, 2024, the University of Cologne announced that its award of the Albertus Magnus Professorship to Nancy Fraser had been rescinded. The reason provided for this decision was that Prof. Fraser signed the open letter, Philosophy for Palestine, in November 2023, alongside over 400 philosophy professors from around the world. The letter expressed solidarity with Palestinians, condemned the massacres in Gaza perpetrated by Israeli forces, and called for an academic and cultural boycott of Israeli institutions.

Nancy Fraser is Professor of Political and Social Science and Professor of Philosophy at the New School in New York. She is widely considered as a successor to Hannah Arendt and one of the most important intellectuals of the present era.
In an interview with Jacobin, Fraser states, ”It is a clear violation of the university’s own stated policy as well as of the […] values of academic freedom, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, and open discussion. Whatever complicated rationalizations are being given as to why this proceeding allegedly doesn’t violate those values ring hollow to me. This also sends a very strong signal to all people in the university and scholars around the world: if you dare, say, express certain views on certain political subjects, you will not be welcome here [in Germany]. It has a chilling effect on people’s freedom of political speech.”

Regarding the ongoing trend of censorship in Germany, she commented, “I also think that it’s so important that Germans understand something of the complexity and breadth of Judaism, its history, its perspective. They are sort of signing on with this idea of an unconditional pledge of allegiance to Israel, that that’s the German responsibility – unqualified support for the state of Israel. Given what Israel is currently up to, this is a betrayal of what I would call the most important and weighty aspects of Judaism as a history, a perspective, and a body of thought.”

The disinvitation faced immediate backlash from academics worldwide. Academics from German universities reacted with a statement published on the website Critical Theory in Berlin. It writes, “It is inconceivable how the university’s actions can be reconciled with the rector’s stated commitment to ‘further dialogue in relation to current and future developments in Israel and the Middle East,’ to the high value of academic freedom, and to international dialogue. If the University of Cologne takes this commitment seriously, it must immediately retract its retraction. We emphatically demand that it do so.”
On April 8, 2024, the University of Cologne published an addendum to its initial press release, asserting that “it is not about whether Ms. Fraser is given a platform at the University of Cologne or not. It has more to do with the fact that the Albertus Magnus Professorship is a special honor bestowed by the entire university [...] hence it is a question of presenting an award, and if this award is appropriate.”