The University of Bern has fired without notice a lecturer who had made positive comments about the Hamas attacks on Israel. An administrative investigation of the Middle East Institute has also been initiated and a co-director temporarily relieved of her duties.
“The University of Bern is confronted with an unprecedented case that has triggered an enormous public response,” the university said on Tuesday. The controversial posts made on the social platform X, formerly Twitter, are unacceptable, it added, and the institution condemns any kind of violence or support for it.
The lecturer from the Institute for Middle Eastern Studies and Muslim Societies allegedly wrote on X that the Hamas attack was the best present he had received before his birthday.
In another post, he allegedly commented on a video of the Hamas raid with the words “Shabbat Shalom” (“Peace be Sabbath”). The online posts have since been deleted.
The termination without notice is due to the intolerable behaviour and the resulting loss of trust, Christoph Pappa, Secretary-General of the University of Bern, told the media.
As part of the administrative investigation, the management of the institute will go through an external assessment. Co-director Serena Tolino will be relieved of her duties during the investigation.
The public prosecutor’s office in Bern is currently examining the facts of the case to determine whether they are criminally relevant. The investigation is not yet complete, the spokesperson of the public prosecutor’s office told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Tuesday.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
This content was published on
Two days after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has announced the creation of a taskforce on the Middle East.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.