Anti-Semitic ‘father of peace studies’ still welcome in Swiss university
University of Basel does not want to ‘rush into’ barring Johan Galtung, who implied that the Jews brought the Holocaust upon themselves
Raphael Ahren is a former diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.
The controversial Norwegian sociologist who made headlines recently for anti-Semitic remarks is still being hosted for speeches at educational institutions.
Johan Galtung, known as the “father of peace studies” because he has written extensively on the topic, is scheduled to address an audience at the University of Basel, Switzerland, next week. This Thursday, he will lecture about “ways out of the global financial crisis” in the German town of Wiesbaden, at an event co-sponsored by a left-wing organization and religious groups promoting adult education
In a recent article article published in his native language and a subsequent interview with Haaretz, Galtung had hinted the Mossad might be behind Anders Behring Breivik’s killing of 77 people in Norway last summer, recommended reading “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” and indirectly suggested that the Jews were responsible for the Holocaust by holding prominent positions in prewar Germany.
A sociology professor at the University of Basel told a local newspaper that some staff members at the university were indeed “irritated” about some of Galtung’s comments, but added that “we didn’t want to rush into things and act without looking into the accusations.”
