Statement by Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal, President of the German Rectors‘ Conference, on the personal threat to Israeli and Jewish academics via an anonymous, now-closed website that offered financial rewards for intimidation and harassment attempts, including death threats, related to the Middle East conflict:

"This inhumane action is breaking taboos and shocks me deeply. Right now, we need a constructive, academic discourse and a rule-based culture of debate instead of boycotts, intimidation, open threats and hatred. Academic freedom and the personal integrity of scholars must be protected at all costs, even in situations of political conflict. That a bounty has been placed on the heads of individual academics, explicitly because they are leading Israeli and Jewish researchers, is intolerable, unprecedented and cannot be justified by any means. My solidarity is with the colleagues affected and their families."

The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, the world’s biggest multi-sport event of the summer, kicks off on Wednesday in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region and in Berlin. From 16 to 27 July 2025, almost 8500 student athletes, coaches and officials from around 150 nations will come together at 23 different locations to compete for medals in a total of 18 disciplines. In addition to top sporting performances at the highest international level, it is also about an unforgettable community experience.

After five successful years, the “MODUS – Enhancing student mobility across educational boundaries through recognition” project of the HRK will end on 30 June 2025. It supported German universities in strengthening and structurally developing their recognition practices for educational achievements and competences. The recognition of credits earned at other universities or in another degree programme, as well as the recognition of competences acquired outside of higher education for university studies, aims to promote the national and international mobility of students, lifelong learning and flexible learning paths, and to make the education system more permeable in general.

The President of the German Conference of Science Ministers, Minister Martin, and HRK President Professor Rosenthal congratulate the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on its 100th anniversary in difficult times and also signal solidarity with Israeli partners in academia.

Calls for a suspension of the EU Association Agreement with Israel or even a boycott to the detriment of Israeli science and international university cooperation with Israel, as can currently be heard in some quarters of European academia, were once again clearly rejected by the President of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), Prof Dr Walter Rosenthal, in Berlin today: ”Israeli universities and the academic community in Israel as a whole have always been a strong liberal, democratic force and a central element of academic and ethical reflection and balance, especially in the Middle East conflict – within Israeli society, in cooperation with Palestinian partners and in the international context. Especially now, they make an important contribution to maintaining links and exchanges between people, institutions and societies affected by conflict and war.”

The Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (Bundesverband der Recherche- und Informationsstellen Antisemitismus; RIAS) presented its annual report “Antisemitic Incidents in Germany 2024”. The President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), Prof Dr Walter Rosenthal, comments: “The RIAS report is depressing proof that anti-semitism is still widespread in Germany and that resolutely countering it remains a task for society as a whole. The significant increase in anti-semitic incidents at universities in 2024 also shows that we must not let up in our efforts to combat and prevent all forms of anti-semitism."