The Rector of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Jaume Carot, has apologised to the Jewish community for a talk held on campus in which the organisers from the movement Ciutadans per Palestina (Citizens for Palestine) defended the terrorist group Hamas and displayed a banner with the antisemitic slogan “From the river to the sea,” which advocates for the extermination of the Jewish people.
The event took place in the Sala Magna of the Faculty of Education at UIB under the title “How to Combat Zionist Propaganda: Palestine Beyond the Myths of Israel.” In it, the speakers described the terrorist group Hamas as a “resistance movement” and dedicated part of the presentation to targeting Laura Miró, a leading researcher on the Jewish community in Mallorca at the Balearic University.
Following this conference, the PP and Vox presented a Non-Legislative Proposal (PNL) in the Balearic Parliament to condemn “antisemitism, Hamas terrorism,” and “any event that glorifies them.” They requested that UIB conduct an “exhaustive and transparent” investigation to identify those responsible for this act that “incited hatred.”
Rector Carot has now sent a letter to both political groups, apologising and acknowledging that the conference initially authorised did not match what eventually took place. Neither the content, the title, nor the speakers announced by a UIB history student were accurate.
“The events that occurred do not in any way represent the sentiments of the UIB management team or the university community as a whole,” Carot laments in his letter, also assuming responsibility for not having activated the “desirable control mechanisms.” However, he assures that measures have been taken to prevent such a regrettable situation from happening again.
Until now, the rector had not condemned these statements or the targeting of the student.
Carot’s apology comes a few days after the group Acampados por Palestina occupied the rectorate and refused to vacate the building, prompting the Board of Directors to call the police.
He acknowledged that “we would not have allowed it in any way if we had been informed of the real content of the event.”
