jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

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the integration of at least 100,000 Russian Jews, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, by little seminars or two-three day seminars, two week courses and the like. Therefore, I put a question mark on the long-term impact of these courses or projects. We have the UJA [United Jewish Appeal] in New York sponsor a lay leadership seminar that is set out for three weekends. We also organized these events and they had some kind of impact, sure. But such events can only be the beginning. My idea of integration would be to target the money into long-term initiatives so that people who have, for example, been stimulated by the Limmud conferences and who have said I have enjoyed dealing with my Jewish identity and in studying and I would like to know more can go on particular courses that will enable them also to qualify professionally and receive standard qualifications. That’s especially important in a country like Germany, where everything is standardized and where you need a paper for everything, a document showing you have official qualifications. I really think one should focus more on developing professional roles. And it would be great if employment in the Jewish Community were often based on these qualifications. Currently the only institution that offers qualifications outside of the rabbinate and the cantorate [as e.g. run by the Abraham Geiger College, O.G.] is the Heidelberg Hochschule [University of Jewish Studies in Heidelberg]. The Heidelberg Hochschule only offers one course apart from the academic MA and that is a course that qualifies students to become teachers in the state school system. The demand for this profile is rather limited because we have so few Jewish secondary schools. Those teachers are paid for by the government and may have little to do with the local congregations. Also, there are very few schools that actually have enough need for a teacher of Jewish religious education. We have very few Jewish schools, partly because of the government’s insistence that all immigrants are spread all over the country. Therefore, we have a couple of large congregations where a lot of Jews can be found, but we predominantly have little communities spread throughout Germany with 100-200 families. This is why we, in contrast, developed a job profile of cantor-educator for people that are directly employed in Jewish Communities. Such people can take on a variety of roles within the local Jewish congregation. It would be great if we could get more and more Russian people into these jobs so that the Communities become more self-sufficient. So the qualification issue is central. ● Undoubtedly the Communities are working on programs of strengthening Jewish identity of the average members. In this context do you think that the significance of Israel, as a modern Jewish State and as a contemporary centre of Judaism will remain the same, or that Israel will even increase its importance in the collective identities of the Communities here? Looking at the fact that it is difficult to get the younger generation involved, one way of getting people interested is, as I mentioned earlier, the camp experience. Another way could be a program like Birthright Israel, the American program that provides a direct experience of the state of Israel for its participants. There are a lot of Russians in Israel, and I think one could focus on the fact that this is also an interesting source of identity. So far, however, I find that the topic of identifying with Israel is being neglected. Our experiences with Birthright Israel in Germany show that a lot can be achieved, especially when followed up back home. I think it would be a necessary component of youth work to integrate the experience of two-three weeks in Israel. If one had a structured approach a camp experience could be provided for the 8-14 year olds, a camp in Israel for the 15-18 year olds and then youth activities much like those practiced in America. These activities have to be conducted with a long-term perspective, so that they are not only one-off experiences. I think projects are also best done independently. They need to have self-governing structures and one should not have the feeling that they are yet another group of programs with a top-to-bottom approach. We should establish a bottom up approach, and here Limmud is also an interesting experience. It gives us an experience that if you organize things yourself you can get a good program together. I think that’s an experience of selfempowerment and this is just what is currently lacking in Jewish organizations. Many people just consume whatever is on offer, but they’re not taking any responsibility. I think everything we do needs to be judged by how much responsibility people will be able to take in the Jewish Community. 73 | P a g e
● There was an overall survey in the Jewish Community in Berlin whose results were published in the Community journal ‘Jüdisches Berlin’ in 2003. According to the survey, 52% of the respondents considered the JC primarily as a place for religious ceremonies, whereas the other respondents valued things like social and entertainment activities. Do you see a problem in this constellation of religious and non-religious interests? If I look at the figures, I would assume the interest of 52% of the immigrants in religious issues is highly exaggerated. About four years ago the number of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs that were held in the Jewish Community of was so low that only a quarter of the kids eligible actually had a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Since more engaging rabbis took office in Berlin this figure is rising currently. ● A quarter of the registered members? Yes. That’s very low. Therefore 52% with religious interests seems to me to be completely exaggerated. I would say the share of religious interests is probably 12-20%. But then, what does religious interest mean? I think my experience of the debate of the denominationalism in Judaism in the last 15 years has shown that people, especially Jewish people, don’t identify themselves by saying, I’m a faithful Jew. They identify themselves culturally. Our attempt should be to say to the FSU immigrants, for example, Passover is exactly your experience. You went out of Egypt into a new country, and now you have positive and negative experiences. By studying the tradition of the Rabbis, one can create a dedication in these people to say you know, this experience of transience and of uncertainty and of redefinition is a Jewish experience. Then there is also more room to use other forms that can be employed when establishing a dialogue with other religions. But if you are absolutely unable to express yourself in Jewish terms, because you have not acquired the necessary language for this, I think most people would say I’m not in touch with my Jewish tradition. I think that Judaism does not expect an expression of faith, saying I have a personal relationship with God. The urgent question is whether you live your life according to the three dimensions that are on offer which are social action, Torah study, and prayer. Certainly the social action aspect, especially in youth work can be a very powerful mode of change and of creating loyalty to the Jewish people. You can always study even if you don’t believe in God; you can still be interested in the Jewish tradition and can study Jewish texts. At the University in Potsdam we have 400 non-Jewish students who study Judaism. So obviously there must be something in it. Then there is the third aspect, that of prayer, that of course can also build on the youth experiences. I find it to be an interesting observation that in youth work one instills interest in the spiritual side through night walks, sensitivity, or guitar playing at the lake; whereas you actually need to enable a knowledge of other dimensions that make you more literate in expressing yourself in religious terms. If you have no literacy for these dimensions you cannot expect that people will use or even understand this language. It’s something that you have to get used to. In our discussion we have built a kind of modular prototype of how one can go about helping the current calamity, and therefore I would say the bad news is that we have only 20% who are actually expressing a religious interest. We have perhaps only 3% who will remain in the communities if we don’t do anything substantial within the next 10-20 years. Given the fact of how much money the German government has pumped into immigration and integration, we will have lost millions and millions and millions of euros for a small percentage of Jews that have actually stayed in Germany. If we carry on the way we are now, in 10 years time, we might have as many Jews left as we had in 1989. ● That would be horrible. It would be indeed, and we can only change this with a structured approach to youth work in the way that I described. The trouble is that any activity has to be almost totally financed by the organizations because there is very little that these people are willing or able to contribute. 74 | P a g e
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JEWS AND JEWISH EDUCATION IN GERMAN
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Leading figures: The agenda of the
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1. TOBY AXELROD May 13, 2009, Berli
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Yes. Aside from the three-day festi
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2. DMITRI BELKIN Frankfurt, June 8,
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lives, they would say that they are
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● And how much are they percentag
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This has been different from town t
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something that would be different?
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oth are led without contact or with
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don’t go to synagogue every Sabba
Page 23 and 24: Germany after the 1990’s is a del
Page 25 and 26: ● It’s probably an unusual situ
Page 27 and 28: 18-30 year olds, yes, and within it
Page 29 and 30: ● Well, Chabad could say they’r
Page 31 and 32: in German politics. This still does
Page 33 and 34: I think the Jüdische Allgemeine Wo
Page 35 and 36: I would say so. The Community reall
Page 37 and 38: think you know them better, I’m t
Page 39 and 40: centers. The state supports them in
Page 41 and 42: 7. GESA EDERBERG May 4, 2009, Berli
Page 43 and 44: these spaces. Places where people m
Page 45 and 46: the respective Community and less o
Page 47 and 48: synagogue to meet the people and th
Page 49 and 50: 8. DAVID GALL May 28, 2009, Munich,
Page 51 and 52: if the people in the Ministry don
Page 53 and 54: presume, the close connection with
Page 55 and 56: The question is how could they thro
Page 57 and 58: ● Is the percentage of young peop
Page 59 and 60: Israel is important. I can’t say
Page 61 and 62: Very poorly. People might be willin
Page 63 and 64: This would only be possible with st
Page 65 and 66: Yes, I see it in the bigger Communi
Page 67 and 68: ● What the perspectives for someb
Page 69 and 70: Now we are also in talks with the U
Page 71 and 72: ● At least probably for those who
Page 73: I am sure that one of the next issu
Page 77 and 78: 12. KÜF KAUFMANN June 17, 2009, Le
Page 79 and 80: keep the kindergarten afloat financ
Page 81 and 82: meeting the board member responsibl
Page 83 and 84: Probably everything together, we wo
Page 85 and 86: 13. CHARLOTTE KNOBLOCH June 19, 200
Page 87 and 88: 10. Many Jews in Germany seem to ke
Page 89 and 90: 14. MICHAEL KOGAN June 12, 2009, D
Page 91 and 92: ● If you come to the Community be
Page 93 and 94: ● You mean there are good things
Page 95 and 96: 15. SERGEY LAGODINSKY June 11, 2009
Page 97 and 98: ● Would you say that most Russian
Page 99 and 100: to make a big fuss out of not being
Page 101 and 102: 16. ARKADY LITVAN May 27, 2009, Han
Page 103 and 104: can’t speak German well up to tod
Page 105 and 106: ● Another youth center? Our youth
Page 107 and 108: 17. JEWGENIJ SINGER June 8, 2009, F
Page 109 and 110: philosophical concept of Liberal Ju
Page 111 and 112: For the Community board election, f
Page 113 and 114: The social circumstances have impro
Page 115 and 116: Well, from the perspective of the F
Page 117 and 118: understand me in stores or doctors
Page 119 and 120: librarians all over Germany. Now we
Page 121 and 122: Yes, and in Hebrew. That’s one di
Page 123 and 124: organize that with the help of othe
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will be some immigrants who are dee
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We started with 17 kids, and I thin
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● What do you think about the gen
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and the question exactly how volunt
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Opening to different movements. Tha
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young people are always treated as
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I think what is really missing is t
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Community]. I don’t see this plur
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● What are the principal Jewish s
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� What would you say about the yo
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throughout Germany]. They come out
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There are some challenges of true a
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Unfortunately, the reporting about
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