Criminal proceedings against teachers dropped after social media posts critical of Israel

The sharp criticism of the Israeli warfare in Gaza by a Hessian teacher on his private social media channel does not constitute the criminal offense of sedition. The Mainz public prosecutor's office told the Evangelical Press Service that a corresponding investigation had been discontinued due to a lack of sufficient suspicion.

Regardless of this, the Hessian school authorities are continuing disciplinary proceedings, as the senior teacher confirmed. The high school teacher Julian H. has been on forced leave for a year now.

Several months after his suspension, the educator went public with his case in early summer. On his Instagram account, he accused, among other things, the federal government of supporting Israeli war crimes. He took the position that Palestinians had the right to use violence to defend themselves against the occupation. The responsible school authority then banned the mathematics and computer science teacher from conducting official business with immediate effect, citing “breach of duty under civil service law and possible criminal offenses”. At the time, the Darmstadt Administrative Court spoke of “anti-Semitic and anti-Israel” posts.

After a private person reported the matter, criminal investigations were initiated; the disciplinary proceedings were suspended for months until they were completed.

The outcome is not yet predetermined by the termination of the investigation without indictment or conviction, as stricter standards apply to official offenses in civil service than in criminal law. The responsible Hessian Ministry of Education does not yet want to comment on the case. In principle, no statements can be made publicly on personnel matters.

The teacher himself told the German Press Agency (dpa): “I did not represent any anti-constitutional positions.” After the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, he attended a solidarity event for the Israeli victims.