„Since wars arise in the minds of people, peace must also be anchored in the minds of people. […] The widespread dissemination of culture and education for justice, freedom and peace are essential for human dignity and a supreme obligation for all peoples, which must be fulfilled in a spirit of mutual helpfulness and compassion. Peace based solely on political and economic agreements between governments cannot meet with the unanimous, lasting and sincere approval of the peoples of the world. Peace, if it is not to fail, must be anchored in the spiritual and moral solidarity of mankind.“
From the Preamble of the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 1945.

We demand an immediate ceasefire and in particular an end to attacks on civilian targets. The wanton destruction of schools and universities, museums, cultural sites, hospitals and refugee shelters is internationally condemned. The IDF’s targeted attacks on educational infrastructure are the reason for fears of a „scholasticide“ of Palestinian society. The higher education system in Gaza is currently collapsing under the bombs.

Our special solidarity goes out to the Palestinian and Israeli civilian population, academics, cultural workers and intellectuals who, despite everything, continue to work for peace.

Until recently, Gaza alone had 17 universities with over 85,000 students for a population of just over 2 million. The rate of tertiary education qualifications was equivalent to that of Germany. The education system has been developed and expanded under the most unfavourable conditions to such an extent that only 2.6% of the population is not literate, far less than the global average.

The development of the education system and the development of educated personalities based on education, science and the arts under civil conditions, in academic freedom and with the necessary material foundations are essential conditions for the development of Palestinian statehood and a political solution to the conflict for a just peace with Israel.

We call on the members of the university, all committees and its management to join the call for an immediate ceasefire.

Solidarity should also be shown through the systematic development of scholarship programmes for students and researchers at university level and at the level of academic foundations and the DAAD.

We call for the establishment and expansion of academic co-operation for civil scientific purposes on an equal footing with educational and cultural institutions in Palestine. Trilateral academic co-operation with Israeli universities should also be sought to promote understanding and peace. The existing partnerships and co-operation of the University of Hamburg and its members with other academic institutions should serve exclusively civil objectives and the promotion of humanity and the indivisibility of human rights.

We call for ways to be found to support Palestinian students and teachers in the resumption of online courses and in the reconstruction of their universities and educational programmes.

We call for ways to be found to use the scientific resources of the university and the university hospital to improve the medical-humanitarian and especially the mental health of our colleagues and fellow students in Gaza.

We call on everyone to participate scientifically in the investigation of the crimes committed in this war, their prosecution under international law and, above all, in research into the causes of conflict and the causes of peace, as well as in peace-building.

To this end, the fully realised academic freedom, embedded in fundamental and human rights, must be filled with life in academic discourse. Adhering to definitions that cannot even be further developed through academic discourse contradicts the living conditions of academic freedom and the acquisition of knowledge, which we consider to be elementary for every university and science.

We, the student body, see this assumption of responsibility as a necessary contribution by the entire university to creating a peaceful and humane world.