A broken nose and cheekbone, traumatic brain injury, and minimal cerebral hemorrhage. This is the result of an evening in February 2024 when Lahav Shapira actually wanted to have fun. He encountered a fellow student outside a bar in Mitte. Their differing views on the war in the Middle East had already been discussed; Shapira is known at the university for his commitment to fighting anti-Semitism.
Now an argument ensues. A punch and a kick land on Lahav Shapira’s face. Later, in the hospital, his facial bones have to be stabilized with two metal plates. “I could have died that evening,” Shapira says.
In April, the perpetrator was sentenced to three years in prison for grievous bodily harm—eight months more than the public prosecutor had demanded. The court found anti-Semitism as an aggravating factor.
Shapira sees violation of the Berlin Higher Education Act
Lahav Shapira sees it as anti-Semitism that hasn’t been stopped anywhere. He wants the Berlin Administrative Court to determine that the Free University of Berlin, where he is studying to become a teacher, has violated Paragraph 5b of the Berlin Higher Education Act [gesetze.berlin.de] . This stipulates the university’s obligation to “prevent discrimination, particularly on the grounds of gender, ethnic origin, racist or anti-Semitic attributions […] and to eliminate existing discrimination.” However, Shapira claims that the Free University of Berlin hasn’t done that—quite the opposite.
“The university administration is accused of giving extremists and anti-Semites too much leeway. The university is certainly not solely responsible for the attack, but it allowed the witch hunts against Jewish students to continue,” the student said in an interview with the ZDF program “Frontal” a few months after the attack. His petition states that the university tolerated “anti-Semitic language becoming concrete actions.”
FU rejects accusation
The FU denies having been inactive, claiming that it has a policy for anti-discrimination and diversity, as required by the Higher Education Act. Indeed, the university’s website lists three contact persons for individuals affected by anti-Semitism, who are available for individual consultations and are also expected to advise the Executive Board on the issue, as well as a “Diversity and Anti-Discrimination Unit.” The university also offers psychological support and issued an anti-discrimination statute in October 2023.
The FU will likely cite all of these measures in the course of the proceedings before the Administrative Court in order to demonstrate that, in its view, it has indeed complied with the provisions of Paragraph 5b of the Berlin Higher Education Act.
Situation of Jewish students at Berlin universities in focus
But even if the university could be proven to have committed negligence at this point, it would be difficult to prove that these negligences were the cause of the violence against Lahav Shapira. Ultimately, the Berlin Administrative Court’s primary concern is to draw attention to the situation of Jewish students at Berlin’s universities. Ron Dekel, chairman of the Jewish Student Union of Germany, also criticizes that they have been increasingly withdrawing from campus discourse since October 7th out of concern for their safety.
The proceedings before the Berlin Administrative Court are scheduled for Tuesday, July 15 , and a decision is expected the same day.
