German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger is set to dismiss a high-ranking official in her ministry, Sabine Döring, after reports emerged that Döring was considering sanctions against a group of lecturers who opposed the removal of a pro-Palestinian protest camp at Berlin University.
On Sunday evening, the Ministry of Education announced that Stark-Watzinger had submitted a request to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to dismiss Döring, who holds the second-highest position in the ministry after Stark-Watzinger.
Unlike Stark-Watzinger, Döring is not an elected official but a civil servant.
In early May, around 150 pro-Palestinian activists attempted to occupy a square and set up tents at the Free University of Berlin to protest against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The university promptly called the police, who cleared the area.
Following the incident, about 100 lecturers from various Berlin universities issued a statement supporting the students’ right to protest.
They declared, “Regardless of whether we agree with the specific demands of the protest camp or not, we stand with our students and defend their right to peaceful protest.”
Recently, the German Broadcasting Corporation reported on leaked internal emails indicating that a legal review was requested by the Ministry of Education to explore the possibility of withdrawing university funding in response to the lecturers’ statement.
Stark-Watzinger, who publicly criticized the lecturers at the time for supporting the protest camp, confirmed that Doering, who oversees universities in the ministry, initiated the investigation.
She stated, “I have arranged for a thorough and transparent investigation into the matter,” emphasizing that “the relevant departments have already been asked to study the potential consequences under the funding law.”
