A Lighthouse in a troubled Time

"In these troubled times and especially after the events of 7 October, which have affected us all, I would like to send a small sign of solidarity with my visit," said the President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Prof. Dr Stephan Harbarth, at the start of his visit to the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies. Right from the start, it became clear how important his visit was to him - as a very personal endeavour to counter anti-Semitism. Harbarth described the university as a "special beacon of flourishing Jewish life in Germany".

Professor Ronen Reichman, holder of the Chair of Talmud, Codices and Rabbinical Literature, started the introductions from the university side. He spoke as a member of the Forum for the Comparison of Legal Discourses between Religions. The aim of the forum is to promote academic dialogue on fundamental questions of the different legal traditions and to facilitate comparative perspectives. Founded in 2015, the forum is led by representatives of the three monotheistic religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The topic of the last meeting in 2023: The internal view and positioning of religion in relation to secular/political power, tied in with the current frame of reference in Israel, in Reichman's view. There, people took to the streets against the planned so-called judicial reforms, Israel proved itself to be a "defensive democracy" for a whole year and the relevance and danger is still relevant, according to Reichman: "This measure, which jeopardises democracy, shows an attempt to break the principle of the political separation of powers by radically weakening the judicial authority." The future of Israel also depends on which interpretation of the legal definition of a Jewish-democratic state will prevail in social, political and legal discourse.

Professor Harbarth added that visitors from the Israeli High Court were visiting the Federal Constitutional Court at the time of the demonstrations, but cancelled their trip the day after the first part of the judicial reform was passed and returned to Israel to deal with the urgent cases. He also emphasised how essential the judiciary is for the system of separation of powers in Israel.

Professor Becke, who heads the Chair of Israel and Middle East Studies and founded the research training group last year together with academics from Heidelberg University, explained the composition of his relatively new Ambivalent Enmity Research Training Group. Although the term "Enmity" is always at the centre, the perspectives come from a wide variety of disciplines. The Centre brings together researchers from Eastern Europe and the Middle East with approaches from history, linguistics, literary studies, philosophy, psychology and art history. According to Becke, a fascination with the enemy can often be observed, which emanates from language and culture, for example. The aim of the research is to gain a more complex, inclusive understanding of conflicts and their solutions.

This was not the first time that Rawan Osman presented her ArabsAsk project, which she launched together with Lukas Stadler and David Lüllemann. However, the time has never seemed more urgent and Osman has never been more convinced of the necessity of her actions: ArabsAsk consists of short videos on TikTok and Instagram in which Osman explains current political and social issues in Arabic: the Middle East conflict, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim racism - topics that polarise and, at worst, radicalise. Together with her fellow students, she founded the Post7October e. V. association on 18 January so that she can rely on a stable foundation for all further steps. The association is actively supported by the university and its circle of friends.

With or without support, the university's student representatives have been even more active than before since 7 October. Supra-regional networks are being established and events organised together, new formats discussed and tried out in the next semester. Student Cornelia D'Ambrosio reported on the many activities, who also described her own turmoil in her own home country of Germany. The President of the Federal Constitutional Court asked questions, listened and followed up, moving from the factual to the personal and thus giving the students the space to describe their very subjective experiences.

During a tour of the university, library director Angelika Stabenow presented the library with its approximately 50,000 books, including a book from the collection of the Jakobson School in Seesen, which was founded in 1801. Stabenow led the way to the Heidelberg Talmud. This had already been printed in 1948 by the Heidelberg printing company Carl Winter on behalf of the US Army in order to be able to hand out several editions to the liberated Jews in the American zone. The Vilna Talmud served as the model. The title page shows a drawing of an abandoned concentration camp on one side and the land of Israel as a hope for the future on the other.

The event concluded with a discussion with Rabbi Shaul Friberg, who reported on his regular work, his interfaith dialogues and trials, but also on the exorbitant increase in pastoral needs since 7 October. It was Friberg who insisted after 7 October that the monthly Shabbat celebration should not be cancelled and who, despite his own dismay, called on people not to give in.

With his visit and his sincere interest, the President of the Federal Constitutional Court also indirectly encouraged the university to continue thinking, developing and growing.