Letter about climate of intimidation at Lausanne University
Published: Sunday, Nov 17th 2024, 15:00
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Last week, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) received a letter signed by 80 people on the subject of the Middle East conflict. The letter denounces a climate of intimidation towards Jewish and Israeli students and employees.
The 30-page letter entitled "Potential extremism and tendentious teaching" was handed over to the management of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), as its spokeswoman, Corinne Feuz, told Keystone-SDA on Sunday. She was confirming a report in the newspaper "Le Matin Dimanche". The EPFL management is analyzing the letter and will respond shortly. The signatories include employees and students of the university and many external parties, but no professors, she added.
According to the newspaper, the embassy denounces the presence of aggressive students, activist professors who show solidarity with these actions and speakers who spread a one-sided view of the Middle East conflict. Stickers and flyers for the liberation of Palestine flourished, as did slogans questioning the existence of Israel.
The signatories conclude that the so-called pro-Palestinian organizations currently active on the EPFL campus are not pro-Palestinian, but rather anti-Israeli. According to Feuz, "the mood is currently rather calm". However, EPFL confirms that there have been some incidents and that it remains vigilant. Stickers regularly appear, but are systematically removed.
In the same context, the neighboring University of Lausanne filed a lawsuit a few days ago for damage to property and denunciation after its students carried out pro-Palestinian actions in May.
©Keystone/SDA
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