The 20th International Conference on “Contemporary Trends in Classics”, which is hosted at the KEDEA of the AUTH in Thessaloniki.

A group of people who identify themselves as “Discontinuity in the course of history – in the original text.” entered the conference hall and proceeded to protest the presence of Israeli professor Margalit Finkelberg.

According to reports, the intruders were demanding that she leave the venue, while chanting slogans in support of Palestine and against Israel.

The conference is organized by the Department of Philology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki within the framework of the Aristotle Innovation Forum and involves scholars from universities in Greece and abroad, focusing on developments in the humanities and the course of the classical sciences.

The reaction of the delegates and the return to the hall

The organisers reacted immediately to the incident. The delegates, including the 79-year-old teacher, temporarily left the hall, leaving the protesters alone in the room.

Some time later, when the intervention was complete and the intruders had left, the participants returned to the conference as normal and Margalit Finkelberg finally delivered her speech.

As Ioanna Karamanou, the chairwoman of the Department of Philology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Ioanna Karamanou, told Macedonian News, the program continued without further problems.

Who is Margalit Finkelberg

The Margalit Finkelberg was born in 1947 in Minsk and settled in Israel in 1975. She is a professor of classics at the University of Tel Aviv and a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences.

He is considered one of the most important figures in the field of Homeric and classical studies. She is editor-in-chief of the international “Homeric Encyclopedia” published by Wiley-Blackwell, and has signed studies published by university presses in Oxford and Cambridge.

The incident sparked debate in academic circles as it occurred during an international scientific conference attended by academics from several countries. According to reports, an announcement was made online by groups of the extra-parliamentary left, which announced a mobilisation at the conference.

First published by makedonikanea.gr