jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

it, for example, in my own son. He used to have no interest in Russian books, Russian TV or Russian
concerts. Now they are looking back, and they look for their own, Russian friends’ network. They also want
to go back to their Jewish roots, but in our Community [Berlin] that’s impossible. Their reinforced orientation
toward Russian culture is obvious, and I hope the same will come with the Jewish culture. That’s what we
have to work on.
� You’re referring to the younger generation of the Russian-Jewish immigrants?
Yes, that’s what I said. They have managed to enter Germany society and culture, went to high school here,
they studied here, learned their profession, but now they’re asking themselves who they really are. Their
family came from there and there, and they are Jewish, but who are they now?
� What is your general feeling and experience with how non-Jewish German officials and politicians
cooperate with the Jewish institutions today?
Very positive, I would say. I’m not talking about the Zentralrat, but with the German politicians and officials
it works. There is respect and understanding. They are kind and constructive. Personally I have had good
experiences with the Foreign Office. For example, I wrote them that we already had been organizing this
summer camp for Jewish children for three years, but that we need support in order to be able to continue
with it. I also mentioned that we invited children from Israel, but that there are objective problems to
continue, for several reasons. And then they arranged a date for me, with the Deputy Foreign Minister. I had
enough time to explain that our small organization is, with such projects like the international Jewish summer
camp, also improving the German image in general. And that’s what he really understood.
Try to imagine, even the Israeli side was hesitant at the beginning. When we organized our first children’s
summer camp in Germany and invited children from Israel, there was a strong rejection. Israeli parents didn’t
want to send their children to a summer camp in Germany. Now, three or four years later, there is a waiting
list for children from Israel, because we cannot provide enough places for the summer camp.
� How many of the children come from Israel for the summer camp?
About one third. I really think that good work was done over the last few years, and the summer camp is
popular across borders now.
� How do you perceive the non-Jewish media reports on Jewish life in Germany today?
There’s a lot of gossip all the time, sometimes good, sometimes bad. But you know what? If people have
problems with Mr. Spiegel [head of the World Congress of Russian Speaking Jews in Moscow, O.G.] then
they write bad things, if they like him, they write good things. That’s the way it goes.
� Do you mean the international press or German press?
The foreign press. Concerning German media, they are rather quiet or just report in a neutral way. It used to
be a problem, especially during election campaigns in the Jewish Community. Now they are quiet.
� How do you see the Jewish media in Germany? Is there a kind of pluralism, and is it possible to further
develop the Jewish media?
I think there is not much future in the long run for the Jewish print media. A lot is switching over to the
Internet now. Let’s take, for example, the Evreyskaya Gazeta [Russian language Jewish monthly available
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