jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

11. WALTER HOMOLKA
May 28 2009, Berlin
● Prof. Homolka, as a leading rabbi in Germany and as the rector of the Abraham Geiger College at
Potsdam University, where do you see the greatest difficulties or greatest challenges for Jewry in Germany
today?
I think the single most difficult issue is will we be able to offer a meaningful explanation to all those who
have immigrated to Germany why they should associate with the Jewish Community? The primary initiative
was social. People needed help to set up housing and to find a job and maybe also to mingle with other
immigrants, but that, of course, cannot continue to be a positive stimulus of identity for the next couple of
years. So we are already very late in providing a meaningful framework for the next generation that will lead
second generation immigrants to becoming more engaged in Jewish Communities, and not only for social
reasons, but also for religious or educational reasons.
I think a part of the solution is the rabbinical seminary [Abraham Geiger College, O.G.], because, of course,
you need change agents in the congregation, professionals that can develop Jewish identity from the
perspective of our tradition and maybe offer a stimulus for such an identity in a contemporary fashion. We
have experienced that the cantorial program at the college has been particularly helpful because not many
immigrants see themselves immediately as a rabbi, which can also be explained by a certain lack of role
models. But many candidates are musically inclined, and therefore we have a real run on the cantorial
program. Both rabbinical and cantorial tracks provide professionals that will be able to serve as change
agents in Jewish congregations and communities.
The third aspect is the ’Ernst-Ludwig-Ehrlich-Studienwerk‘ [scholarship foundation]. We are in the fortunate
situation to be able to organize an institution that looks after young secondary school graduates who are
likely to become the lay leaders of Jewish Communities in the future. We can provide them with the
incentive of a scholarship; in return they will have to attend Jewish programs, e.g. summer academies. They
will be challenged by interesting people and projects in which they can evolve. I hope that through this
incentive mechanism the scholarship holders will identify more closely with Jewish thought.
Our hope is that in time we will be able to say that not only have we done something for Jewish religious
leaders, but that we will also have done something to develop Jewish lay leaders. I think that is the single
most important issue, involving immigrants in a Jewish Community that is not only a social center.
● How do you define the next generation or the new generation? Would you say they are those who are now
student age?
Yes. I am regularly assessing candidates for the German National Scholarship Foundation, and in the
selection seminars of this institution, I see that there is a large number of high achievers among secondgeneration
immigrants. In the first generation we still had such cases of immigrants who had been professors
in their home country and were now parking lot attendants in Germany because their credentials are not valid
here, or they cannot find a job that suits their academic background. But the next generation is really trying to
make it in this country. Therefore, I think we have a high potential, much higher than, for example, Russians
of German origin who usually don’t make it that easily here – and we have this large group of achievers.
But many of the parents in our immigrants’ families are also receiving social benefits. This makes it very
difficult for children who want to pursue academic studies. If, however, we can develop a mechanism that
gives these children a scholarship dependent on the income of the parents, I’m pretty sure that we can offer a
necessary step that will make sure that these children are actually getting into the qualified jobs that they
aspire to.
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