jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

Yes, I see it in the bigger Communities, but not in small Communities with 300-400 members. The small
ones have to find out for themselves how to deal with these different opportunities, and it will depend on the
willingness of the respective majorities there, regardless whether Orthodox, or Masorti, or Reform.
Concerning the bigger cities, not all of them will have different synagogues and Communities, and I think
this is also not necessary. If there is a huge synagogue like the Westend Synagogue in Frankfurt which has
different places for prayer, then of course, this is the right place to create plurality and to try it.
● Israel has been a central element of collective identity in the Jewish Communities of Germany during the
last decades. Do you think that will continue in the future, more or less on the same level?
It’s hard to say on what level this will continue. Of course, Jewish solidarity with Israel, and lots of individual
experiences with the country, kinship bonds, all these are very important elements in Community life. Also
from the outside world, Jewish Communities are very often identified by their connections with Israel.
However, I do not think, that the connection with Israel has been the only central element in Jewish identity
in recent decades. There has been a much broader spectrum of elements that all together have formed Jewish
identity in Germany. During the last two decades the membership of the Jewish Communities has grown
enormously and this gives space for more and different constitutions of identities. Israel will always remain
an important part of identity and Community life, just due to history. Because this is the place where Jews
have been living all the time, and where the Shoah survivors found a haven. I’m sure this will also be a major
factor of determining the experiences of Jewish Communities in 100 years. There will be several other
elements besides this with growing importance.
● You have been the prorector of the University of Jewish Studies in Heidelberg for two years. What is your
general experience with German officials, and how do you see this on the general German level?
Well, we have full support by the federal government, the local government and the University of
Heidelberg. Some have the impression that the official policy is simply to provide financial support in an
attempt to try and repair what happened to the Jews in Germany in recent history, at least to repair
symbolically, and that they would actually not intend to do that much. On the other hand, there seems to be a
kind of conviction that our university can give something back, not only to the narrow issues of Jewish
Communities and towards Jewish and non-Jewish religious forums, but also to play an important role in
social, political and cultural life. I would say they even expect us to give something back with all the credits
of this institution. Not only to Jewish places, but also to museums, the media, conferences, making an impact
on the non-Jewish environment as well. The concept of the university fits the bill and there’s still a majority
of non-Jewish students here.
● What are the current proportions?
The share of Jewish students has grown during the last few years but it has still not yet reached 50 percent.
And not all of the non-Jewish students are Christians. We have a lot of students here who are without any
religious affiliation, especially among those from East Germany, and there are also students with a Muslim
background. So you see, our university is definitely not fixed on a Jewish microcosm.
● What are the proportions between Jewish students originally from Germany and Jewish students with
migration background?
It’s rather a question how you want to define it. For example, we have many Jewish students here who came
with their families from another country but who have been living here for a long time. We can even say
they’re already a new generation of Jewish students. All in all, we have 14 different nationalities here among
our students. There are also a few Israelis; we have students from China and Egypt. I have doctorate students
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