jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

together. If they hadn’t chosen this way, then they would not have survived during the last 50 or 60 years.
And today some people think that the time has come for a new Jewish pluralism. As I said, I’m careful with
this, and do not share this view. But everything does exist and I can only judge it for what it is. Is it good or
bad? I’ve got to take it as it is.
● Do you think that in the next 20-30 years, the significance of Israel in Community life - or for the identity of
the members - will remain the same as it’s been over the last 30-50 years?
I think it will remain the same, yes. Maybe the emphasis will shift, because up to the 1980’s, or maybe even
later, the Jews living here in Germany, they saw Israel as where they’d be living in the near future. They all
bought apartments there and saw their life here in Germany as something temporary, short-term. Now this
has all changed. The majority assume that they’ll stay here in Germany, or try to stay or want to stay. But
Germany remains and is and will be their home. However, the spiritual, the religious-spiritual center will be
in Israel. That’s why I said that the emphasis will shift a bit, and is shifting already. The connection to Israel
will remain. I don’t want to compare, but it will be something like, Mecca for the Muslims. The center stays
in Mecca.
● If you don’t have many employees here in the Community, you’ve got to make do with few material
resources, but you still, I presume, offer a pretty wide range of educational programs, including Hebrew
courses?
Yes, we have all of that.
● Would you say that this is readily accepted? Or would you say, there could be more interest?
Some people who are interested are intensely interested, but that’s not the big crowd. It’s just like with
attendance at religious services. Those who come are really interested, but that’s just the hard core group.
If you ask how many members are active in the Community, I can’t say. There are people who only come to
meetings, twice a year, they’re interested in the meetings and want to organize them and so on. There are
those who just come to the religious services and not to the meetings. And there are those who just come to
the cultural programs, and that’s also a mixed group. Not every cultural event is the same. There are, for
example, dances and there are some people who just come to the dances. There are those who just come to
readings, or to something else. But altogether very many people come to the Community, just not to
everything. And maybe that’s better, because we wouldn’t be able to fit them all in the same room. I mean we
have almost 4,000 members.
● You haven’t added on to the buildings since the 1990’s?
Not at all.
● Let’s speak about the youth center. Do you have a social worker? Or is everyone working on a volunteer
basis?
No, it’s mainly volunteers and there are young people who rotate in the center to make sure it works. It’s not
completely volunteer work, but it’s also not a real job, there’s a small allowance for it, but nothing much.
● You already mentioned a kindergarten project under construction Could you say something about it? How
big is the kindergarten?
We’re planning to open a kindergarten for 40 children. There’s a baby group and the 3 and over group, until
they go to school. And we have the kindergarten in the former youth center. We’ve rebuilt, and added on.
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