Berlin CDU Leader Calls for Resignation of University President Over Handling of Pro-Palestinian Protest

Alice Salomon University President Bettina Völter faces criticism for her response to a campus protest, with accusations of moral failure and support for activists linked to antisemitic actions.

CDU-Fraktionschef Dirk Stettner has demanded the resignation of Bettina Völter, president of Alice Salomon University, citing her handling of a campus protest as a moral failure.
The protest involved pro-Palestinian activists occupying a lecture hall, displaying banners with slogans like 'Free Palestine', and defacing university property with Hamas-related imagery.
Völter criticized police presence near the protest site, describing it as threatening, and requested officers to leave the area, a stance that drew widespread backlash.
Berlin’s mayor, Kai Wegner, also condemned Völter’s actions, stating it was unacceptable to view police as a threat rather than the masked, allegedly antisemitic protesters who occupied the university.
Stettner accused Völter of either knowingly or unknowingly supporting Hamas-affiliated activists and undermining the credibility of law enforcement.