Switzerland: Lecturer at the University of Bern is terminated for remarks against Hamas

A professor who blatantly expressed admiration for the Hamas bombings in Israel that claimed 1,200 lives has been suspended by a Swiss institution. The anonymous lecturer’s statements on X, previously known as Twitter, were judged “unacceptable” by the University of Bern, and he was therefore suspended.

The two offensive statements have since been removed, but according to AFP-cited accounts, one of them joked that the strikes by Hamas were the nicest birthday gift anybody could possibly get and the other mocked the fact that they occurred on Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. According to the institution, the instructor has been suspended “with immediate effect” “after a thorough evaluation of the situation,”

The Swiss authorities were also investigating the remarks for potential legal violations. “I have always strongly condemned violence against civilians and attacks on Jews,” the disciplined employee said. In a short statement to the newspaper, which did not use his name, he continued, “For ideological grounds, I profoundly detest the objectives of Hamas and related organisations.

Air Canada suspended a pilot earlier this week for wearing pro-Palestinian flags over his flight suit. The pilot, Mostafa Ezzo, is accused of making derogatory remarks against Israel on his social media postings after a surprise assault on West Asia by Hamas terrorists.

In a similar scenario, former adult actress Mia Khalifa lost a lot of commercial engagements due to her support for Palestine in the Israel and Hamas conflict, which some people called “horrendous” statements on the social media platform X.