Civitas Blog

Today’s Times reports the last-minute cancellation, for what were reported to have been ‘bureaucratic’ reasons, of a three-day programme of lectures and seminars due to have begun at the University of Leeds yesterday, organised by its German department.

The speaker was to have been a visiting German academic, and his subject how the Nazis deliberately stirred up anti-Semitism in the Middle East, a region that had previously been comparatively free of this pathology but where it is now rife in its most virulent form.

As mentioned, the University denies having cancelled any lecture for fear it might offend Muslim students of whom several had reportedly complained to it about them.

Puzzled as to what possible ‘bureaucratic issues’ could have required cancellation of a lecture, given the programme had reportedly been publicised three weeks ago, your intrepid reporter made enquiries of the University's Press Office and was given the following explanation that he was told he could attribute to the University Secretary:

'The decision to cancel a public lecture by Dr Kuentzel has nothing to do with academic freedom, freedom of speech, anti-semitism or Islamophobia, and those claiming that is the case are making mischief. Nor is the University bowing to protests or threats from interest groups or individuals.

'The lecture has been cancelled on safety grounds alone and because - contrary to our rules and protocols - no assessment of risk to people or property was carried out, no stewarding arrangements were in place and the University was not given sufficient notice to ensure safety and public order (the lecture came to our attention less than 36 hours before it was due to take place).

'We value academic freedom and remain committed to promoting and positively encouraging free debate, enquiry and, indeed, protest. We tolerate a wide range of views, political as well as academic, even when they are unpopular, controversial or provocative.

'Where meetings are potentially controversial, we have a duty to protect the safety of participants in the event, and other people within the vicinity, and to ensure that public order is maintained. The University cannot allow an event to take place without the necessary arrangements in place.'

In view of this explanation, we can look forward to the lecture being rescheduled to some future occasion which will allow the University time to make adequate stewarding arrangements for them.

In the meantime, those wishing to learn more of what the German academic would have said had he been able to give his talk can click onto the following link to a highly informative article of his on this very important subject.

I should also point out that, in a separate communication from the University, I have been asked to state that, contrary to what was reported in the Times, the lecture-seminar programme has not been called off, only the public lecture that was part of it. Two seminars on the subject that are reserved for its students alone are going ahead.

By the way, as I recall, the Nazis perfected the technique of using violence and its threat to suppress speakers whose views or race they did not like. Could this technique have been something they also passed onto the Middle East along with their anti-Semitism?