In German first, Leipzig students vote for academic boycott of Israel
In a historic first for Germany, nearly 700 students at the University of Leipzig voted almost unanimously on 19 May to demand that their university sever all ties with Israeli academic institutions over the genocide in Gaza.
The location is significant.
For decades, Leipzig has been regarded as one of Germany’s strongest centers of the "Antideutsche" current, a tendency within the radical left defined by militant anti-nationalism and vocal support for Israel under the banner of combating antisemitism. Antideutsche activists also frequently clash with pro-Palestinian activists at demonstrations and events.
The adopted list of demands calls on the university to recognise and condemn the genocidal nature of Israel’s war on Gaza, including the scholasticide taking place there, a term used to describe the systematic destruction of educational institutions, students and staff.
Students demand an end to all cooperation with Israeli universities and institutions, and insist that the University of Leipzig neither participate in, promote, nor publicise collaborations or activities organised or hosted by Israeli universities.
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According to a report written by students and staff, the University of Leipzig’s cooperation agreements with Israel aid and assist Israel in genocide and other violations of international law.
The university’s collaborations include extensive student exchange programmes, ongoing direct research projects and partnerships with various institutions within Israel that have been accused of advancing illegal settlement of Palestinian land.
"Leipzig University is very open about its collaboration with institutions that violate international law," a student and contributor of the report told MEE.
"Cooperations must be ended on three grounds: moral because the cause against genocide is universal and just, ethical because the university must be a place of learning and knowledge production that upholds the value of life and education and rejects human rights violations and scholasticide, and finally legal because the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that confirms the illegality of aiding and abetting violations of erga omnes [universally binding] laws including by Israeli educational institutions."
University moves to block vote
The University of Leipzig did not welcome the assembly call or the subsequent near-unanimous vote. After an inquiry was sent to the university's spokesperson, MEE was referred to a statement issued on 18 May, in which the university explained its decision to withdraw the room provided to students to conduct the assembly the following day.
"It became necessary to reassess our decision. This is no longer about academic debate, but about a partisan statement and the intention to restrict academic freedom," said Professor Eva Ines Obergfell, the universitiy's rector.
"Yesterday's assembly, attended by an estimated 1 percent of our students, was not convened by the Student Council management in accordance with its statutes," the university told MEE.
The Student Council rejected the accusation as unfounded. The student representative body said that under its statutes, a general assembly can be convened through a petition signed by at least 3 percent of the student population. According to the council, students collected around 1,300 signatures, exceeding the required threshold.
"The collected signatures clearly show that we, as a status group of students, want and need to be part of this discourse. The convening of this general assembly as a direct means to this end must be accepted by the university administration," said Alaska Krakor, a member of the Student Council.
The University of Leipzig is not the only institution in Germany with entrenched ties to Israel. It is difficult to find an educational institution in the country that does not.
The German Rectors' Conference, the association of state and state-recognised universities in Germany, released a statement in June 2025 calling for the reinforcement and strengthening of academic and research collaborations with Israel.
The statement was in response to calls for the suspension of the EU Association Agreement with Israel, the primary legal framework governing political dialogue and economic trade between the European Union and Israel.
"Israeli universities and the academic community in Israel have always been a strong, liberal and democratic force and a central element of academic and ethical reflection and balance, especially in the Middle East conflict," the statement read.
'Think globally, act locally'
Another student at the University of Leipzig told MEE that while this was not the first time a student council had voted in favour of resolutions supporting an academic boycott, this vote was different because it was a general assembly specifically convened around the issue of ending academic complicity, rather than having such resolutions introduced during a broader meeting.
MEE also spoke to representatives from Students for Palestine (SFP) Leipzig, who explained that the foundations for the success of the assembly - which took place outside the university courtyard - started at the beginning of the academic year with the launch of the complicity report.
Although student councils had previously passed similar resolutions, organisers used presentations on the report and on academic boycott strategy to educate as many students as possible prior to the assembly.
"We as students wanted to think globally and act locally," SPF said.
"Our university is complicit with its direct ties and cooperation with Israeli institutions which helps develop weapons, makes bombs, and increase knowledge production on how to oppress Palestinians, and we want no part in this complicity. We call on the university to respect the will of the student body," it added.
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