jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

● How were the book reviews?
If there were criticisms about the book, it was that it’s a great book, but why did the caretaker have to be
Jewish? I think you can encounter something like that only in Germany. That really made me mad.
● Part of the abnormality in the present relations between non-Jews and Jews in Germany?
Yes, but there are more difficulties. For example, if you aren’t a member and don’t go to a synagogue, then
it’s very difficult to meet other Jews in Germany. That’s a problem. I think that’s a reason why relatively
many Jews go to the synagogue, or belong to a Community. Maybe they don’t go to the synagogue, but
they’re members.
● Do you think that there could be institutions or networks being on equal footing in importance with the
synagogue? Do you think there are models for this?
I could imagine something like that with all the Russian immigrants. I think that they would bring a
completely different approach to Germany. The struggles the Russian immigrants have in the synagogues in
Germany are really hard, and there is a kind of racism that I find horrible.
● From the German side or from the Russian?
From the German side. There’s a strange air of dominance, the idea that the immigrants need to adapt and no
one has looked to see what the immigrants are bringing with them, what they could contribute or what is
important to them. It’s assumed that they don’t have anything to contribute; that they don’t know anything
about Judaism, we need to teach them everything and it reminds me a little of the time after the Berlin Wall
fell. I was aware that this is history and there was a kind of colonialization from West German women,
regarding the East German women’s movement. Everything that had existed and was really good was
completely ignored and even fought against. I think it’s similar when I see the Russian immigrants. They’re
coming from the East. I haven’t thought about it on a deeper level, but I’ve noticed that there’s not much
openness to what the people have to offer.
● Is it really a problem in the small Liberal Communities?
Of course. Most Liberal Communities have a lot of Russian immigrants. I’ve experienced it in Oldenburg
first hand. There was the attempt, without glancing at what the people had to offer, to force them into the
system as it existed. I think that the young people will emancipate themselves from this. That’s my hope at
least.
● There is a discrepancy between the 200,000 Jews in Germany and the 100,000 in Communities, why is
this?
I think it has also something to do with cultural barriers. But you know, culture can just do the opposite and
help to find mutual approaches. Culture meaning music, literature, things in this direction, and as a meeting
place. When I see the young people today, there’s Jung und Jüdisch, for example, and that’s someplace where
young people really feel comfortable. It has something to do with religion, but also mostly with the
development of one’s own identity and tradition. What could become important for us, to experiment with
that, to spend weekends with each other? A lot is happening.
● You are an active member of the Liberal Jewish Community Gesher le Massoret in Cologne. What do you
think are the largest problems or challenges currently facing German Jewry?
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