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Max Planck Institute in Garching near Munich
Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / dpa
Due to allegations of anti-Semitism, the Max Planck Society has separated from visiting professor Ghassan Hage. Hage had worked at the Max Planck Institute for Anthropological Research in Halle (Saxony-Anhalt) since April 2023. He had repeatedly spread views on social media that were incompatible with the basic values of society, according to a statement from the Max Planck Society.
She announced on Wednesday that she was separating from the Lebanese-Australian scientist. The company made the decision in agreement with the Halle institute.
Now the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has called for clarification and consequences. It is good that the company parted ways with the scientist amicably, said Schuster on Thursday when asked by the dpa news agency.
"But no thin explanation is enough for me, I expect an explanation of the process and, above all, precautions so that these cases no longer occur in the future." The "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" and the Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk, among others, had previously reported.
Hage: He couldn't accept being indirectly called a racist
According to reports, Hage compared Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack to the actions of the Nazis. The “Welt am Sonntag” first quoted Hage’s statements at the end of last week. As a result, calls for consequences became louder.
Hage initially did not answer a query from the dpa. On the platform X, formerly Twitter, the scientist explained that he could not accept being indirectly called a racist. He learned a lot from Jewish authors.
Researchers abuse civil liberties when they undermine the credibility of science with publicly disseminated statements, as the society said in a statement. This also damages the reputation and trust in the institutions that support them.
"The fundamental right to freedom of expression finds its limit in the mutual obligations of consideration and loyalty in the employment relationship." Racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, discrimination, hatred and agitation have no place in the Max Planck Society.
The federal government's anti-Semitism commissioner Felix Klein, Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) and state science minister Armin Willingmann (SPD) did not comment on the case when asked. When asked, Willingmann emphasized that universities and research institutions in Saxony-Anhalt do not tolerate anti-Semitism and that he fully supports them.
swe/dpa