“I completely agree that Germans have a special responsibility towards the Jews in light of the Holocaust. But to equate criticism of [Zionism’s régime] with antisemitism is simply wrong. And may I add that as a Jew I also feel a special responsibility. But … that doesn’t mean giving this government carte blanche. What is happening in Gaza should not happen — and especially not in my name. I strongly reject the equation of [Zionism] and Judaism. Judaism has a rich secular and, above all, universalist tradition. It pains me when it is reduced to [Zionism’s] hyper-ethno-nationalist politics.”

Asked why she thought the philosopher Judith Butler had been allowed to assume the same professorship in 2016, despite having been highly critical of [Zionism’s régime], Fraser said: “In Germany, the panic of doing something wrong has increased. In addition the war in Gaza is now rekindling the feverishness.”

Fraser has said she will continue to hold the lectures she had planned to deliver in Cologne, both at the New School and at another location in Germany.

“It has been suggested that I give the lectures elsewhere in Germany under the slogan: ‘This is what you weren’t allowed to hear in Cologne’.”