This is the version of the speech given by the President at the New Year's reception with a footnote added (marked accordingly).
Dear members of the university, dear guests,
I am delighted and thank you all for coming.
The university management combines the New Year's reception with best wishes for the New Year.
May you stay healthy, may there be peace, may you feel personally safe and protected this year and may you be content and remain confident that difficulties and challenges will turn out well.
May we all grow together and in critical solidarity in the face of these challenges.
The catering for today's lunch is sponsored in view of the current provisional budget. I would like to thank the donors, who wish to remain anonymous.
My thanks also go to you, dear members of the university, for a very busy year 2024, which flew by and yet, as always, was very, very intense, full of experiences and diverse. We have the great opportunity to work at a university with systemically relevant teaching, research, transfer and promotion of young talent. Universities are exciting and open educational institutions that sometimes seem extinct and sometimes tremble and vibrate with overflowing events - and of course there are all shades of university experiences in between.
We have four days of vibrating behind us. For some people at the university, the occupation on January 6 and the presence of the students in the AudiMax was barely noticeable, for others it was frightening at times. For many, it was very stressful for various reasons. People were also personally affected. I expressly apologize for this. The expression of protest has certainly disturbed most of us and caused us to be really torn apart, at least because of the media coverage, which created its own image and had an impact on us.
I also apologize for all the negative emotions, the unpleasant impressions, the anger, the worries and the helplessness as well as the additional work that the occupation caused during the days from Monday to Thursday last week.
As a person, I am not directly affected by discrimination. It is therefore all the more important to me that we remind ourselves of this: It is our task and human duty, and also our task as members of an open university, to realize what it means to be exposed to anti-Semitism or forms of racism, such as anti-Muslim racism, in our everyday lives. Having to experience and endure derogatory statements, exclusions, instrumentalization, blanket whitewashing, physical and/or verbal violence and threats almost constantly and everywhere, unexpectedly or expectedly, can make you ill, wear you down and weaken you. At the same time, society also expects the people experiencing this to not take the hostility against their dignity and the attempts to dehumanize them so seriously, to not scandalize them and to find a way of dealing with it. This is an absolute imposition for people, and we as an institution and as members of ASH Berlin must indeed do everything we can to ensure that the structural anti-Semitism and racism that is also perceived, accused and admonished by those affected at our university and against which protests are rightly made is taken seriously, addressed and remedied. This also applies to the iconic images that are perceived as threatening, which were created during the days of protest and the daily coordinated program for the following day, as well as all tendencies of everyday anti-Semitism and everyday racism.[1]
The fact that a group of students who are committed to pro-Palestinian causes are now rightly accusing ASH Berlin of anti-Muslim racism, while at the same time making massive anti-Semitic statements during the protest days without being fully aware of their impact and significance, is fatal and continues to fuel the polarization that we at ASH Berlin have been working against since 7 October, but it is a reality that we must not close our eyes to, but which we as an educational institution must face up to. This is more than a major challenge in the context of the understandably massive, sometimes unfounded accusations and the scrutiny we are under, which will no longer allow for misjudgements and mistakes. It (actually) requires time to process what has happened and what is actually there, in-depth (self-)critical evaluation, discussions and confidence-building in all directions, clear boundaries and yet an invitation to become part of our university's educational program, joint reflection, a differentiated, transparent approach and very good, strong and knowledgeable external partners. And all this while the university continues to operate.[2]
I am very pleased that well over 100 members of the university initially discussed their feelings in a sounding board on Tuesday morning. I hope that many more people from the university will have their say and share their thoughts and feelings in the coming days, weeks and months. Anyone who would like to take the opportunity today to continue the conversation is cordially invited to do so.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to share the events of the past week, the position of the Executive Board, our approach and the broad-based critical solidarity with the President of the German Rectors' Conference, Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal, and to talk to him about it in detail. In all the conversations I have had over the past few days, with the Senator and the State Secretary, with the contact person for the state of Berlin on anti-Semitism, with the head of police operations, with Alice Salomon's great-grandnephew, with experts on anti-Semitism and racism, with people from politics and society, I have realized how important it is to provide comprehensive information, to engage in dialogue and to listen to each other in depth.
These are usually long conversations that are very informative and also beneficial. It is now so important to talk to many people and all sides. I have already requested further talks with Tacheles, the group of students affected by anti-Semitism, with the staff council and Ms Einsporn, there will be a discussion with the delegates of the protesters, who are also addressing the structural racism experienced at our university, and yesterday we decided in the Executive Board that we would like to initiate meetings of teaching and administrative staff on site and also seek an exchange with all students in a sounding board.
In a very long and constructive discussion with me yesterday, the President of the German Rectors' Conference, Prof. Dr. Rosenthal, pointed out, among other things, that we deliberately have open universities in Germany. They are places of exchange and education that enjoy autonomy. However, this is precisely why conflicts can occur on campus at any time, and no one is protected from this.
So the question is, how do we deal with this?
Even though we at ASH Berlin have been working intensively on how to deal with terror and war in the Middle East for some time now - with various offers that are open to all of you - and even though we have already mastered other challenging situations at our university, our learning curve was very steep last week. We are confident that we will grow together through the discussions and other formats for dealing with what we have experienced and that we will make our university even more resilient against anti-Semitism and racism, verbal violence and border crossings at the expense of other people. The President of the HRK has encouraged me personally and us to do this. I am very grateful to him for that.
I am also very grateful for the strengthening solidarity that many university members and external colleagues have joined. In the meantime, 388 colleagues from ASH Berlin and other universities have signed the letter of solidarity. Further expressions of solidarity have been received. In the meantime, there have also been offers for longer interviews in the press, a radio feature, and for the organization of diverse formats of exchange and development here at the university that also appeal to the soul and emotions. That is very, very nice and I am extremely grateful for it.
After all, it's not about me, it's not about the Executive Board or ASH Berlin alone. It's about the autonomy and resilience of universities, about the opportunity to enable differentiated opinion-forming processes and educational processes and to recognize authoritarian and radicalizing tendencies and fend them off to protect our democracy.
ASH Berlin is trying to find its own way of dealing with terror and war in the Middle East. It, the Executive Board and, above all, I am currently being criticized and held accountable in the strongest possible terms for the tests it is undergoing and the associated costs. I take this very seriously and it goes to my heart. However, I can also tell you that the letters I receive are predominantly positive, encouraging and full of praise for ASH Berlin's performance in this major challenge. I am happy to pass this praise on to all of you.
And I would like to thank my two colleagues on the Executive Board, Gesine Bär and Anja Voss, for their admirably clear attitude, their outstanding, knowledgeable and 100% committed, prudent and supportive cooperation in managing the university!
I am very much guided on my current path by two of the messages that we published as part of our series "Civil Society Engagement in Israel/Palestine. Voices against the lack of prospects" from people from the Middle East. Whether they were Palestinians or Israelis or both, all the speakers in the series so far have told us that a polarized discussion and polarized approaches in Europe and Germany do not help them. We need to find ways of understanding all positions on the Middle East conflict and its effects on us and right here in Germany in order to help the people there in the peace-building process that we all long for and that is so important for all of us.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you all once again to the fourth and final lecture in the series: On January 30, Tova Buksbaum & Wajih Tmaiza Fawzeya from Parents Circle - Families Forum will share their perspective with us here at AudiMax from 2-4 p.m., titled "Holding on to Humanity - Shared Grief, Shared Hope: How Do We Heal?"
The second message from the presentations was that democracy is a precious commodity that can also erode, as is unfortunately currently the case in Israel and has long been the case in Gaza. Our speakers hope that this will not continue to be the case in European countries and give us a message: Democracy, including democracy within universities, thrives on ambivalence, on the strength to be able to endure unsettling moments, including the helplessness, the not-knowing that is inherent in many a situation. Democracy thrives on a differentiated view and approach, even if this is sometimes very painful and means detours and a lot of stress.
ASH Berlin would do well to be one of those who follow this path, which includes all voices, consistently combats discrimination, anti-Semitism and racism, hatred and violence, strengthens solidarity among each other and upholds and cultivates democratic bodies and institutions within and outside the university. This is the only way we can develop and position ourselves as a resilient organization for the challenges ahead.
I would like to work with many members of the faculty to achieve this and - if necessary - fight to ensure that all our students find their place at our university, that everyone is heard, that their concerns are heard in a differentiated way and that they have the opportunity to find a way through their studies so that they can then make their important contribution to the SAGE professions as professionally educated graduates who are experienced in dealing with conflicts.
To this end, it is important to give students the confidence that this is their university, but that they can also be confronted very critically and rigorously with their contradictions, transgressions and, in the worst case, statements by individuals or certain groups that are relevant under criminal law. We have confronted the protests with this attitude so far and must become even more experienced and consistent when it comes to protecting all members of the university.
I now come to a second, no less important topic: it is by no means the case that we are only confronted with this challenge: In November, we were informed that the university contract signed in February 2024 could not be adhered to in this form. This meant that we had to ensure that the budget was approved by December 31, 2024. As the university management, we had the opportunity to inform the university public and committees about this and to hear initial voices and protests about the implemented cuts. Our budget was approved at the end of 2024 with conditions. One of the conditions is that we have to apply an 8% freeze on consumptive expenditure in the 2025 budget. In this respect, we are now in the second phase of dealing with the cuts until the end of January. We have to apply a freeze of €2,141,643.92 (excluding building maintenance). The aim of this phase is to get out of the current provisional budget management.
We should now, in the third phase, which overlaps with the second phase and runs until the start of the supplementary negotiations on the university agreement on January 23, 2025, make ourselves aware of and present the special problems and needs of ASH Berlin.
Once again overlapping, the preparatory phase for the negotiations has now begun. The aim is to obtain a mandate from the Academic Senate for the responsible negotiators. This can issue proposals and orders.
The fifth phase of dealing with the cuts begins on January 23. This is the phase of negotiations on the supplementary contracts. The aim here is to reduce the provision of services in the university contract and consolidate our services in line with ASH Berlin's mission statement, subject to funding cuts. As a smaller university that is still suffering from the growing pains of the last university contract, that is struggling with the challenges of establishing the nursing and bachelor's degree in occupational and physiotherapy and as a university without reserves, whose budget reserves must be used to equip the new building, we would also like to achieve a reduction that takes these special conditions into account.
The negotiations are expected to continue until summer 2025.
After that, we will have to implement structural measures under pressure to make savings. The aim here is to establish structural measures that reduce, consolidate and shape in the long term. This is all subject to the proviso that the state of Berlin will once again have to make significant savings in 2026.
As is well known, ASH Berlin was relocated from Schöneberg to Hellersdorf in 1998 on the basis of a Senate resolution. The core idea behind this decision was to establish an educational institution with a SAGE profile in the young district, not least to prevent social upheaval and promote democratic development and education there. The university has been fulfilling this mission with conviction and commitment for many years. In view of the development of movements that threaten democracy, this mission is more relevant than ever.
Our university's DNA includes projects and grants for students, such as the pre-study program for refugees, grants for study trips, writing coaching for first-generation students and others who are facing financial difficulties. However, it is precisely these programs offered by ASH Berlin that contribute significantly to the promotion of diversity, democracy and social innovation in the district and for Berlin as a science location. These projects contribute not least to the successful completion of studies.
ASH Berlin has developed into a nationally renowned educational institution, not only for the science location, but also for social development in the state of Berlin. This was recently underlined by last year's transfer audit. It stands for the development of democracy, gender equality, diversity, low barriers, access to education for first generation students, anti-discrimination, criticism of racism and anti-Semitism, human rights, theoretical and practical approaches against polarization, innovation and transfer and research strength in the social, childhood education and health sectors.
Following on from this, I would like to conclude by telling you what Mark Jacobs, the great-grandnephew of Alice Salomon, said to me recently. He asked himself and me on the phone what Alice would have said about the university's recent challenges, and we both agreed that she always stood up for all people, especially those in need. She had been a great "bridge builder". And that is how he had always perceived the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin, he said, as a bridge builder, even and especially in difficult times. He wrote to me the next day:
"We trust that you and your team will use your experience, inspired by Alice and others, to build bridges and support all communities suffering from war and prejudice. We would wish for nothing less."
I think that can just leave it at that.
Thank you very much for listening and have a great New Year's reception!
I would now like to announce the bassoon duo "Rohrgesänge" Susanne Benner and Elisabeth Böhm-Christl
I will hand over to Prof. Dr. Benner, Professor of Family Law and Head of the Biographical and Creative Writing course, to present the program. And thank you in advance for your surprising offer and gift to us in the current crisis situation to provide a musical framework for the New Year's reception!
[1] Footnote added to the version spoken on January 16, 2025: Anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim racism have demonstrably increased since October 7. According to a study by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency on the effects of the terrorist attack on the Jewish and Israeli community in Germany, Jews "report increasingly constricted or insecure spaces, the loss of their political home, and isolation in the midst of an anti-Semitic debate about Israel and Palestine. It is important to understand that it is not 'only' the fact of terror that continues to have an effect, but also the defense, the disregard, the refusal of recognition. In German, post-national socialist and post-migrant society, Jews and Israelis are faced with a majority that largely splits off its relationship to its own history, understands the memory of the Shoah as an empty ritual and is ambivalent about contact with everything Jewish." (see Chernivsky, Marina/Loren-Sinai, Friederike (2024): Der 7. Oktober als Zäsur für jüdische Communities in Deutschland, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, Ausg. 25-26/2024, in: https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/antisemitismus-2024/549359/der-7-oktober-als-zaesur-fuer-juedische-communities-in-deutschland (accessed 16.01.2025)
According to CLAIM - an alliance against Islamophobia and hostility towards Muslims, anti-Muslim racism "permeates all areas of life, be it when looking for accommodation, visiting the doctor or at school. Especially after the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, anti-Muslim incidents have risen sharply. Children are also verbally and physically attacked. A large proportion of the documented incidents mainly affect Muslim women and take place in the education sector and in public spaces. Overall, a serious number of unreported anti-Muslim incidents can be assumed." (cf. www. claim-allianz.de/presse/pressemitteilung-antimuslimische-uebergriffe-und-diskriminierung-in-deutschland-2023-mehr-als-fuenf-antimuslimische-vorfaelle-pro-tag/ (accessed 16.01.2025)
[2]Paragraph supplemented compared to the version spoken on 16 January 2025
