jews and jewish education in germany today - The Westbury Group

10. Many Jews in Germany seem to keep their distance to the Jewish Communities and organizations.
What do you think are the main reasons for this? What do you think can be done to change this
situation?
First of all we should give the Central Council of Jews in Germany credit for uniting almost 120,000
Jews from 107 Communities.
There are still too many Jewish people who do not feel that they belong to any Community or
organization. However, I’m hopeful that we can win them over by offering attractive programs.
11. What have your experiences been like in working with German authorities and politicians?
There are many German politicians that we can count on, also in difficult times. This includes the
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is an extremely reliable partner. There are many other
politicians who work very well with us. We have also had mostly positive experiences when dealing
with German authorities.
Finding a job is by far the biggest problem for the immigrants. Their expectations are high, sometimes
too high to be met. These are not only due to an exaggeratedly positive image of the situation in
Germany. Rather, the majority of the immigrants are extremely achievement oriented, well educated
university graduates and specialists. Very few are blue collar workers or fit the profile of the “classic
guest worker”. In contrast to them, the Jewish immigrants held highly qualified positions in their home
countries and want to work in appropriate and comparable positions here. This is understandable, but
simply not practicable in most cases.
Concerning the so-called Ghetto-pension I hope that the German state pension fund will implement the
latest Federal Social Court ruling as quickly as possible. Until now, over 90% of all applications have
been denied. For the applicants it’s a race against time.
12. How did the German population react to the growth of the Jewish Communities in the 1990’s?
The German population had different reactions to the growth of the Jewish Communities in the 1990’s.
Some showed support, some skepticism.
Today there’s mostly curiosity about Judaism and an interest in inter-religious dialogue, also due to the
fact that Judaism is becoming more present in the center of society. We have the immigration to thank
for the fact that new Community centers and synagogues could be built in the last few years. We
shouldn’t forget this.
13. What do you think of German media coverage of
a) The developments in Jewish life in Germany
b) The developments in Jewish life worldwide
c) The developments and events taking place in Israel?
a) Coverage of Jewish life in Germany usually shows a real interest in it. The reporting about the new
Community centers and synagogues that were built in the last few years was particularly good.
Another positive development is the trend that Jewish programs have become established brands in
non-Jewish media.
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