Danish university condemns lecturer’s ‘death to IDF’ slide

The University of Copenhagen on Tuesday condemned the actions of an external associate lecturer who appeared to have a displayed an image with the text “death to the IDF” among the slides of a presentation he gave during a law faculty lecture.

“The University of Copenhagen wishes to clarify that it is unacceptable that the image in question appeared in connection with teaching without an educational context,” a university spokesperson wrote in a statement.  

The university declined to answer the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s questions on the identity of the lecturer, which was not made known, citing privacy issues. It also would not say what disciplinary action, if any, would be taken against the lecturer in connection with the slide, which critics interpreted as a call for violence against Israel.

A picture of the slide appeared on Tuesday in the Danish media after it was given to lawmaker Christian Holst Vigilius of the Conservative People’s Party, who shared it online.

Two sources have identified the lecturer in question to JNS, but he did not reply to a request for comment by time of publication. JNS is withholding his name pending further confirmation.

Israel protested the slide, which repeated a slogan popularized last year by the musical duo Bob Vylan at a music festival in the United Kingdom, where thousands chanted it at the duo’s encouragement, as the BBC aired the event live.

“This is a completely unacceptable and deeply concerning behavior! We appreciate that the University of Copenhagen is taking the matter seriously, but we also expect the consequences to match the severity of the actions,” a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Denmark wrote on X.

“A person who incites or encourages violence should not be entrusted with a teaching position or have responsibility for instructing students, who at all times are entitled to a safe and respectful learning environment,” the spokesperson added.

Vigilius wrote on Wednesday on X that, “Fortunately, it seems that the University of Copenhagen is taking it seriously.” However, “something at least as frightening as the teaching assistant’s hateful politicizing misuse of his position is the apparent support he is receiving from many law students,” Vigilius added. He said he’d seen “a flood of students under anonymous profiles who are praising the teaching assistant, calling his ‘Legend,’ saying ‘he should get a medal,’ and similar comments—with many likes. It’s worth noting that many of these people could become tomorrow’s lawyers, civil servants, prosecutors, judges, and jurists in key societal institutions,” said Vigilius.