The University of Bern dissolves its Middle East Institute

Christian Leumann, Rector of the University of Bern, centre, speaks alongside Peter J. Schneemann, Dean of the Faculty of Phil. Faculty of Humanities at the University of Bern, left, and Christoph Pappa, Secretary General of the University of Bern, right, at a media conference on the report of the administrative investigation at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies and Muslim Societies (ISNO) on Thursday, February 1, 2024 in Bern. © Keystone / Anthony Anex

The University of Bern is dissolving the Institute for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Societies (ISNO) in its current form. This was decided by the university management following an administrative enquiry into the institute, as announced on Thursday.

The investigation into the ISNO was initiated after an employee of the institute made favourable comments on the online platform X (formerly Twitter) about Hamas’ attack on Israel. The employee was subsequently dismissed without notice.

+ Bern university lecturer fired for comments praising Hamas attacks

The faculty will now present a structural report on the reorganisation of the department by the end of June 2024, according to the university. Until the new structure is put in place, the institute will be placed under the supervision of the faculty management. The co-head of the institute, Serena Tolino, was also admonished for shortcomings in management behaviour, namely in the recruitment of staff.

The administrative investigation found that there was a strong polarisation and deep human unease among employees at the institute. There were dependencies of employees on the institute’s management, conflicts of interest and an excessively informal management style. However, the report also states that competitive scientific work was carried out at the ISNO.

Translated from German by DeepL/amva

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