Statement of Solidarity with Nour Shantout

against the censorship and institutional discrimination enacted by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)

Dec 19, 2024

We stand in solidarity with Nour Shantout, who has faced the unjust termination of her PhD employment contract and funding. We strongly condemn the actions of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) as we understand them to be acts of racist institutional discrimination, abuses of institutional power, and incidents of digital surveillance and academic censorship.

A Syrian-Palestinian artist, researcher and educator, Nour Shantout was employed as a PhD candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2023. Her PhD project ‘The New Dress as a Counter-Cartography of Resistance’, which looks at Palestinian embroidery in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon, was awarded a doctoral fellowship at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). On October 9th, 2024, her employment as a PhD candidate was terminated with immediate effect.

Concurrently, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) ceased her fellowship stipend of 46.759€ per year. The incident cited for her dismissal was an instagram story on her personal profile in which she shared a post from another account. The explicit contents of the post, which opposed the state of Israel, can be criticised and further discussed on their own terms, as the Austrian constitution grants the protection of freedom of speech. Yet it is important to note that the re-shared post did not belong to Shantout, it was not her written words, and it was not shared within an academic setting or publication. The Instagram story was brought to the attention of the Academy of Fine Arts by individuals who had been engaging in a prolonged and racist harassment campaign against Shantout, threatening and stalking her on social media. Shantout had previously made the institution aware of the racist harassment campaign she was subject to and they did nothing to protect her, further enabling her abusers.

What is critical is the question of the legitimacy of digital surveillance on behalf of the academy, and whether the re-sharing of an Instagram story on one’s personal profile, or the outputs of their personal social media presence, justifies the immediate termination of one’s employment and financial support. Both terminations were conducted impulsively and completely lacked due process, disregarding Shantout’s agency to speak and defend herself, completely disregarding the rights of an academic worker – an experience that was both discriminatory and institutionally racist. This excessive and multiple punishment aims to put Nour Shantout in a precarious financial position, and endangers her residence permit in Austria. The proportionality of the punishment is incongruent in relation to the alleged offense and must be harshly denounced and swiftly rescinded.

The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) dismissed Nour on the grounds that her actions 'contradicted decency and morality', using this as a key reason for termination. They claimed that Nour's behavior harmed their reputation, and her termination was done for a “good cause”. We would like to question the moral clarity of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), along with other Austrian institutions, and ask how they can seriously engage in moral debates when the Austrian political landscape has for months been acting contrary to the United Nations^[i] and international judicial institutions^[ii], investigations by authoritative human rights organisations^[iii], Palestinian civil society organizations^[iv], Israel human rights groups^[v], Holocaust scholars^[vi], and Post-apartheid South African and Namibian legal opinions^[vii]. We ask ourselves where is the morality and the decency of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) when they contribute to the public denial, approval, gross trivialization and justification of genocide and war crimes, via the silencing and repression of critics of Israel - an expansionist settler colonial^[viii] apartheid state^[ix] which is commiting genocide^[x], engaging in collective punishment and forced starvation^[xi], forced mass displacement^[xii], ethnic cleansing^[xiii], commiting the targeted mass killing of journalists^[xiv], doctors^[xv] and international aid workers^[xvi], implementing the industrialized^[xvii] and indiscriminate mass murder of civilians^[xviii], mass imprisonment^[xix] which involves systemic rape and torture^[xx], the imprisonment of children^[xxi], intensely restricting the delivery of aid, food and medical supplies^[xxii], including anesthesia^[xxiii], commiting ecocide^[xxiv], domicide and the flattening of cities^[xxv], the destruction of medical infrastructure^[xxvi], committing scholasticide^[xxvii], the destruction of world heritage sites^[xxviii], commiting countless war crimes^[xxix] such as the use of white phosphorous^[xxx], committing state sanctioned acts of terror^[xxxi], causing the highest rate of amputations in children per capita^[xxxii], and murdering the highest number of women and children in any other recent conflict in a single year^[xxxiii]. We would argue that reputational damage of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is far greater when viewed through the lens of their own actions, as opposed to a single instagram story, critical of a state committing genocide, on the personal social media profile of an academic worker.

In reference to Shantout’s instagram story, The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) called to attention the § 283 Criminal Code (StGB). § 283 of the Criminal Code specifies the nature of acts considered to be incitement to hatred, and was expanded in 2016 to include online hate speech.^[xxxiv] Yet it is intended to be applied when referring to people or a person, not a state, as was done in the reshared post in question. It is clear that in this statement the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) apply the IHRA definition of antisemitism to their reasoning, which understands the criticism of Zionism and the state of Israel as an act of antisemitism against all Jewish people. The IHRA definition of antisemitism is not definitive, non-legally binding^[xxxv], and is widely criticised and denounced by Jewish academics, scholars, and human rights organizations^[xxxvi]. This seriously raises our doubts about the application of § 283 in the Academy’s attempts at legitimising their actions.

The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) further assumes that Nour may have violated the provisions of the Prohibition Act (Verbotsgesetz). We take this claim seriously and ask the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) to reflect on the historical weight and contemporary parallels of this accusation. From 1938 to 1945 the Academy of Fine Arts and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), along with other Austrian universities, enacted the forced purge of its staff and student body under the directive of racially and politically discriminatory laws with the full support of students, officials and professors. In the contemporary, when an active genocide is occuring against the Palestinian people, anti-Palestinian racism is being ignored and normalized and promoted in Austrian civil society, the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people is being systematically denied in Austrian public life, students are being repressed and criminalized for protests of solidarity, events and lectures in solidarity with the Palestinian people are being censored and criminalized, and a purge of staff is underway, including Palestinian academic workers such as Nour Shantout. It would seem that the Austrian history, culture, and processes which enable genocide are alive and well, and institutions such as the Academy of Fine Arts and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) have failed to meaningfully learn from their history. Austrian universities and research institutes continue to maintain collaborations with the European Defence Fund, Austrian Defence Research Program (FORTE) and weapons manufacturers such as Steyr, Reinmetall, Glock, Airbus and Thales who profit from the ongoing genocide. Austrian universities as well continue to maintain relationships to Israeli universities through research collaborations and Erasmus partnerships which facilitate the genocide via weapons development, knowledge production and military training. This is all happening while the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), a party whose founding leader was a former Nazi minister and SS officer, won first place in the 2024 Austrian legislative election.

The fact that the Academy of Fine Arts and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) are willing to terminate contracts without due process contributes to an ongoing atmosphere of fear, repression, and a history of anti-academic freedom of speech within the university. The blatant abuse of power by the academy is part of a broader ongoing history of systemic exclusion and silencing of voices that express solidarity with the Palestinian people and critique the state of Israel—specifically, its apartheid regime, expansionist settler-colonial project, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Below is a list cataloguing this repression within Austrian academic institutions. This is shared to stress that this case pertaining to Nour Shantout is not an isolated incident of repression, surveillance, and academic censorship, but rather a symptom of systemic institutional racism, as well as a deterioration of democracy and democratic norms within Austria. Additionally, we want to underscore that the repression and censorship experienced by Nour Shantout represents a significant and alarming escalation in this ongoing pattern of systemic violence.

We conclude this statement, as concerned art workers active within Austrian civil society, by reiterating our denunciation of the actions of Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) and our solidarity with Nour Shantout.

Arts Against Censorship - December, 2024

Catalogue of repression and censorship in Austrian Universities
(2018 - 2024)

This is not an exhaustive list. It should be noted that many cases go unreported out of fear of further repression.

29/05/2018 University of Vienna - Dr. Greg Thomas - A lecture series organized by the Institute for African Studies, the research platform Mobile Cultures and Societies and the Association Dar al Janub was threatened to be cancelled because of Dar al Janub’s endorsement of BDS. The lecture “The Complete Fanon: African Revolution, Black Power Movement, and Neo-colonial Imperialism” was able to happen despite the threats.

https://afrika.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/i_afrika/Offener_Brief_20180612.pdf

21/06/2018 & 22/06/2018 University of Vienna - Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin Wahad - The Black Panther Party leader’s lectures, “Born in the storm: to become a Black Panther” and “New Age Imperialism: Globalizing Democratic Fascism” were cancelled over the endorsement BDS by one of the organizers, Dar al Janub. The lectures were part of a series organized by the Institute for African Studies, the research platform Mobile Cultures and Societies and the Association Dar al Janub.

https://afrika.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/i_afrika/Offener_Brief_20180612.pdf

https://dar-al-janub.net/open-letter-to-the-university-of-vienna-institute-for-african-studies/

30/05/2022 Academy of Fine Arts & Mumok Kino - Walaa Alqaisiya - The Palestinian scholar’s lecture “Queering Aesthesis: Unsettling the Zionist Sensual Regime”, part of the Spring Curatorial Program 2022 – Art Geographies, was cancelled with no explanation, discussion or public statement, after pressure from Keshet Austria and the Council of Jewish Austrian Students

https://www.artforum.com/news/uproar-as-lecture-on-palestine-canceled-by-academy-of-fine-arts-vienna-and-mumok-251882/

https://art-leaks.org/2022/05/30/open-letter-response-to-the-cancellation-of-dr-walaa-alqaisiyas-lecture-at-the-spring-curatorial-program-2022-art-geographies-by-the-programme-participants-and-other-affiliates/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19436149.2024.2348942#abstract

16/10/2023 Academy of Fine Arts + IKA - Yanis Varoufakis - The keynote lecture, “The New Enclosures: From tall border fences to our new technofeudal order” part of The Otto Wagner Lecture 2023: IKA Institute for Art and Architecture was indefinitely “postponed” due to the “dramatically escalating, geopolitical situation” not allowing for “constructive-confrontational dialogues”. Yanis Varoufakis has been a consistent advocate for the Palestinian cause.

https://www.change.org/p/open-letter-and-protest-on-the-cacellation-of-yanis-varoufakis

https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/560460/yanis-varoufakis/

19/10/2022 Academy of Fine Arts - Dr. Andreas Malm - The lecture "A Ceaseless Drive: Structural Forces behind Climate Disaster and How to fight Them" was cancelled due to the scholars endorsement of BDS

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000139897256/nach-protesten-klimaaktivist-andreas-malm-kommt-nicht-nach-wien

03/11/2023 Academy of Fine Arts - Students of Academy of Fine Arts - A petition signed by 655 people, titled “Decolonization is not a Metaphor: Against Dehumanization at the Academy Vienna”, is ignored by the Academy.

https://www.change.org/p/decolonization-is-not-a-metaphor-for-academic-freedom-and-against-the-complicity-in

03/11/2023 University of Vienna - Adriana Qubaiona, Layal Ftouni, Darryl Li, Amahl Bishara, Ilana Feldman - The Teach-In “Against the present: Past and Future Perspectives on Palestine” co-organized by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology (IKSA) at the University of Vienna in cooperation with the Department of Gender Studies at the Central European University was cancelled, citing “one-sided representations, intolerance, racism and antisemitism”.

https://www.birzeit.edu/en/the-world-sides-with-gaza/letter-protest-university-viennas-cancellation-events-palestine-and

03/11/2023 University of Vienna - Students of Academy of Fine Arts - A statement published on October 31 and approved by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology (IKSA) titled “Against Violence in Israel and Palestine”, and linked directly to the Teach-In “Against the present: Past and Future Perspectives on Palestine”, was removed from the IKSA departmental web page after an intervention by the Rectorate of the University of Vienna.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSPiRMvGAomEj_wlUiNacxxMzjXpprMMfoyLtvVFKmlNp57B_IUQF_10QW5-xZ_TLqTavZ9Hcx9DzQI/pub

https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/palestine-uncensored-testimonial-15

07/11/2023 Central European University - Adriana Qubaiona, Layal Ftouni, Darryl Li, Amahl Bishara, Ilana Feldman - The Teach-In “Against the present: Past and Future Perspectives on Palestine” was relocated after its cancelation at University of Vienna. The first teach-in “Palestine as a Feminist Issue,” with Professors Ftouni and Qubaiova as the speakers, was further intimidated by police presence at its new location in the Central European University. Afterwards the rest of the program was moved online.

https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/palestine-uncensored-testimonial-15?srsltid=AfmBOorWW-_ALnTc3_St9AfGy8C87uR96TsiCoTZNM9Tzic3coBZewiR

20/11/2023 Academy of Fine Arts - Free Palestine AKBILD Collective - A three meter long banner listing the names and ages of children killed in Gaza on World Children’s Day was seized and thrown into the trash by Academy staff.

07/12/2023 University of Vienna - Feminist Referat - All five members of the Referat were fired after a meeting with the Vorsitz. This was made after a decision of a Koalitionmeeting (WTG) in which none of the none of Fem*Ref members were invited. The reason given was the solidarity expressed by Fem*Ref after a Palestinian colleague in the Queer*Ref was expelled in November 2023.

11/12/2023 University of Applied Arts Vienna - Students of University of Applied Arts Vienna - A petition signed by 406 people asking for an end to institutional silencing and for the university to join in a call for a ceasefire was ignored by the university.

https://www.change.org/p/dieangewandte-don-t-silence-your-voice-don-t-silence-our-voices

?/02/2024 Academy of Fine Arts - Ines Weizman - a lecture on Modern Architecture in Palestine, hosted by Ines Weizman, was allowed to happen yet was deleted from the Academy of Fine Arts website.

05/03/2024 University of Vienna - Sarah El Bulbeisi, Birgit Englert, Helmut Krieger, Kevin Potter, Maya Rinderer, Leonardo Schiocchet, Nour Shantout, Klaudia Wieser, Anna Younes - The Lecture Course “Palestine in Global Contexts - On Mobilities, Solidarities, and Memory Cultures” which involved lectures of five Palestinian women scholars, organized by Birgit Englert from the Department of African Studies in cooperation with Maya Rinderer from the Department of Near Eastern Studies, was cancelled due to being “one-sided” despite it being a course explicitly focused on Palestine with scholars from multiple academic fields.

https://afrika.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/rassismuskritische-ag/proteste/

09/05/2024 University of Vienna - Eviction of the students' encampment at University of Vienna.

14/05/2024 University of Vienna - Rashid Khalidi - the lecture “Ongoing Nakba? The War on Gaza and its Historic Roots” was cancelled by the University’s rectorate and shifted to being held online only. 600 students attended the lecture online, while 200 stood outside the university lecture hall under police surveillance. The university never communicated why the lecture was cancelled.

https://www.newarab.com/news/vienna-university-cancels-talk-palestinian-historian

29/05/2024 University of Technology Vienna - eviction of the students encampment at TU Vienna.

21/06/2024 Central European University - Students of CEU - Police forces were called in to identify and restrict protests by kettling students at the CEU graduation ceremony. This was done without any prior intervention from university security personnel

26/06/2024 University of Applied Arts Vienna - dieAngewandte Free Palestine - The social media posts from the university excluded the abundance of posters, banners, leaflets, graffiti and flags in solidarity with Palestine that were present throughout the Angewandte Festival, censoring any visibility of a dialogue happening within the university.

https://www.instagram.com/dieangewandte_free_palestine/p/C9E7sXhsbU6/

28/06/2024 Academy of Fine Arts - ‘Decolonial Encounters’ AKBild Free Palestine - The Student Union (ÖH akbild) cancelled a student-organized event.

https://www.instagram.com/spc_austria/p/C8w_ZMKtFtH/?img_index=1

25/10/2024 University of Vienna - KSV-KJÖ - A podium discussion on Palestine, militarisation and the involvement of universities in arms research, which included voices from Palestine Solidarity Austria, Dr. Astrid Wagner, and Secretary General of the Society for Austrian-Arab Relations Fritz Edlinger, was cancelled at short notice. The event was forced to relocate to the Austrian-Arabic Cultural Center (OKAZ).

09/10/2024 Academy of Fine Arts - Nour Shantout - A Syrian-Palestinian artist, researcher and educator had her employment as a PHD candidate terminated over a reposted story on her personal instagram profile. The termination was immediate, due process was not respected and she was not given the opportunity to present an argument or engage in a dialogue with the Academy.

09/10/2024 Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) - Nour Shantout - A Syrian-Palestinian artist, researcher and educator had her doctoral fellowship (ÖAW-DOC) terminated over a re-shared story on her personal instagram profile, on the grounds that her actions 'contradicted decency and morality', and out of concern for the reputation of the Academy. Possible violations of § 283 Criminal Code (StGB) and provisions of the Prohibition Act (Verbotsgesetz) were additionally cited as concerns. The termination was immediate, due process was not respected and she was not given the opportunity to present an argument or engage in a dialogue with the Academy.