Abstract: Since the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, German-speaking universities are no longer a safe haven for Jewish life. Those affected describe how the normality of yesteryear has been destroyed.
On October 7, 2023, a new era began for Jewish people. Even beyond the media-visible cases and hateful demonstrations on the streets, high-profile occupations and calls for boycotts at universities, the atmosphere at many universities changed permanently.
What did this development do to Jewish people working at these universities? To what extent were their professional self-image, their position in the academic space and their reality of life influenced? What strategies did they develop in dealing with hostility and institutional uncertainty?
In over sixty personal testimonies from members of the network of Jewish university lecturers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as their support group, those affected paint a striking picture of rejection, exclusion and loneliness in the world they once considered their spiritual home. At the same time, the band documents the ability of those involved to act under difficult conditions. The book thus offers a disturbing and insightful look at the precarious situation of Jewish university members behind the charged discourses of our time.
