After 7 October - Science and the Principle of Hope

On Wednesday, State Secretary Arne Braun from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts and Alexander Salomon, Chairman of the Working Group for Science, Research and the Arts and Spokesperson for Science and Higher Education for the Green Party parliamentary group, visited the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies. They were accompanied by staff from the ministry and the working group.

Nine politicians from Baden-Württemberg visited the University of Jewish Studies (HfJS) in Heidelberg on Wednesday to gain their own impression of the activities and concerns of university members after 7 October.

Shaul Friberg, Rabbi of the HfJS Heidelberg, told the group about the enormous increase in pastoral work since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel. He also observed an increase in Israeli participants in the monthly Shabbat celebration, which he organises for all interested parties of all religions at the university.
"We must not stop talking either. Dialogue, trialogue - we have to keep talking to each other," says Friberg. He was particularly pleased about the great interest and the open expressions of solidarity from politicians. Alexander Salomon said that he was proud and grateful "to have the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien as a European centre of excellence and other centres of Jewish life here in Baden-Württemberg. The assessments and voices from the university provide orientation and strengthen all those who are involved in an informed manner. And we need a lot of them right now."

After the group had had a chance to browse through the library and marvelled at the holdings as well as the historical Heidelberg Talmud, they sat down together at the large table to discuss the current situation. Projects that are more topical than ever were also presented.

For example, Rabbi Prof Dr Birgit Klein's project is not only of interest to researchers. Here, scientists collect and analyse Jewish reactions to anti-Semitism. As Christian-Jewish rapprochement has so far been limited to theological issues and ritual practice has also been measured in Christian terms, the project aims to increase understanding and acceptance through a very personal approach. In short videos, Jews explain their personal reasons for certain rituals - be it the wearing of a kippah, kashrut or observance of Shabbat and holidays. Jewish practice and religiosity are given faces and should therefore become more tangible.

Philipp Zschommler, a member of the Klein team, heads the provenance project. Since 2019, it has been dedicated to researching the provenance of books from the university library's collection. Among the volumes published before 1945, there are numerous copies for which an unjust confiscation during the Nazi regime can be reconstructed. The owners are being researched and their lives traced with the aim of returning the books to descendants or successor institutions.

In addition to the National Rabbinical School in Budapest, the former name of today's rabbinical seminary, more than 200 individuals and institutions have already been identified as the rightful owners of books that came into the possession of the university primarily through donations and antiquarian purchases. "Although the projects are repeatedly funded, it would make sense to stabilise them in order to develop long-term strategies," says Zschommler.

The student representatives at the HfJS are also currently developing strategies "to counter the worrying anti-Semitism at universities and among students," says Cornelia D'Ambrosio. In addition to the usual social commitment, such as the annual Mitzvah Day, the day of good deeds according to the Jewish faith - which the group dedicated to Ukrainian and Israeli children together with the Jewish community in Heidelberg this year - supra-regional alliances and collaborations have been forged since 7 October. In future, discussions and lectures will be organised together with other Jewish organisations and the university cinema would also like to be involved, says Anna Gazarian, also from the student representation. "We want to show films by Israeli filmmakers in order to break down stigmas by touching on the cultural context." Especially in the current times, it is important that the so-called opposite side is recognised as a human being. Michael Joukov, spokesperson for student affairs and young academics for the Green Party, adds: "We do not accept the fact that Jews are exposed to hatred and threatened at German universities, we fight against it. Anti-Semitism has no place anywhere, and certainly not on campus. Universities are guardians of freedom and tolerance. Together, we are therefore seeking to join forces with those responsible at our universities and all university members who actively oppose anti-Semitism and thereby make it clear: Universities are part of the solution and not part of the problem."

Actively countering anti-Semitism is also the motto of three students who are particularly concerned about the problem of Israel-related anti-Semitism in and from Arab countries. "We must not forget that many refugee children and young people from Islamic countries have grown up with anti-democratic disinformation and a deeply rooted anti-Semitic world view," says Lukas Stadler, historian and Judaist at the HfJS, who has already written a brochure for the Jewish community in Graz on preventing anti-Semitism. Anti-Israeli stereotypes can often not be combated if knowledge is only taught in schools and primarily in German, agrees David Lüllemann. Lüllemann is a Master's student at the HfJS and has many years of experience in training courses to raise awareness of anti-Semitism. Together with Rawan Osman, a Syrian-Lebanese student at the HfJS who has been working as a peace activist for several years, they are designing videos for Tiktok: low-threshold information programmes, academically sound, attractively designed and, above all, presented in Arabic. Individual aspects of controversial topics such as the Middle East conflict, Muslim anti-Semitism, conspiracy theories and anti-Islamic racism are addressed and explained in an appealing way in Arabic. All three students are hoping for a participatory effect among Arabic-speaking people in Germany who have so far remained silent.

State Secretary Arne Braun is particularly impressed by this project: "I would like to tell others about it: it is practical and could serve as a model for other initiatives."

In the meantime, the trio is busy founding the association and is still looking for financial support to finally get started: "Without the principle of hope, we wouldn't be able to make any progress at the moment."