Henrik Caspar Wegener

Why boycott?

Henrik Caspar Wegener is the former rector of University of Copenhagen (KU), which under its Zionist leadership summoned armed police to disperse peaceful student protests.

Rector: Will not boycott the occupation state
As of September 2024, the former Zionist rector of University of Copenhagen (KU), Henrik Caspar Wegener, stated that the University of Copenhagen would not 'on its own initiative' boycott occupation universities (source), justifying this by saying that the institution would otherwise lose its credibility. In a major interview, Henrik Caspar Wegener stated: "The answer to whether KU will implement an academic boycott is simple. It is no," and encouraged students to "face the defeat and focus on their studies" (source 1, source 2).

The statement came despite the fact that The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2024 assessed that there are plausible signs that the occupation state is committing genocide against the Palestinians (source), and that several Zionist occupation universities have documented cooperation with the occupation army (IDF) in developing weapons and military doctrines used against the civilian population in Palestine and Lebanon, including in the Gaza genocide.

Henrik Caspar Wegener's rectorate has also faced internal criticism from over 60 researchers and educators at the university, who in an open letter condemned the leadership's decision to summon armed police to disperse peaceful student protests at Søndre Campus in December 2024 (source 1, source 2). The criticism was particularly directed at the fact that the protesting students – who, among other things, wore socks in a humorous reference to rector Henrik Caspar Wegener's own annual speech about the "sock-foot principle" and that activists "must show consideration" (source) – were forcibly removed, and that their attempt to create a peaceful dialogue about the university's connections to Zionist institutions was met with escalation rather than dialogue.