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Final investigation into prominent German Reform rabbi affirms abuse of power allegations
(JTA) — A long-awaited final report has arrived in the investigation of a leading German Reform rabbi and his partner after allegations of abuse of power and sexual harassment against them erupted last year.
Clocking in at 806 pages, the report by a prominent German law firm concludes that Rabbi Walter Homolka “was responsible for alleged misconduct, although he himself denies this,” and that radical “structural changes are necessary to prevent misconduct in the future.”
Those changes must cut deep, the investigators from the Cologne-based firm of Gercke Wollschläger added: It is not enough that Homolka took temporary leave from some positions, if those posts are now held by individuals who are beholden to, dependent on, or “feel ‘connected’ to him.”
They also concluded that it was not sufficient to transfer his ownership stake to other institutions — as Homolka did in January — and that it would not be appropriate to found new institutions if these “are also within the sphere of influence of the person from whom the alleged misconduct emanates.”
The report concludes an investigation commissioned in May 2022 by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the country’s main Jewish administrative organization. Investigators conducted more than 70 interviews over several months before releasing an executive summary in December that found that abuse of power and sexual harassment did occur at Germany’s liberal rabbinical seminary.
That 44-page summary drew legal challenges from Homolka, who continues to dispute the claims, and the final report reflects slight revisions based on a Frankfurt court’s decision to bar some references to possible criminal misconduct. Still, Central Council President Josef Schuster said the publication “does justice to the courage” of those who bore witness to the investigators. In all, 74 people testified to the investigators.
“In Jewish organizations and institutions, Professor Homolka has already lost most of his influence today,” Schuster said in a statement issued last week. “After the results now published, I cannot imagine that anything will change in this regard.”
Homolka was a founder and director of several German Jewish institutions when the allegations against him broke into public view in May 2022. The latest report by Gercke Wollschläger lays out numerous instances of alleged abuse of power and sexual harassment, particularly at the Abraham Geiger College, the Reform rabbinical seminary at the University of Potsdam that Homolka founded and directed. The Central Council was its largest funder.
The University of Potsdam conducted its own investigation, concluding that “many respondents stated on the record that Mr. Homolka had created a ‘climate of fear’ that had a restrictive effect on the actions of students and of staff.” The university did not investigate Homolka’s husband, who was the object of some accusations but had already been fired by then.
That report, released in October 2022, found no indications of criminality, and so Homolka retains his professorial position.
Homolka and his partner — German law bars publication of his name — have denied all allegations. In a statement last week, their attorney, at Gessner Legal, described the investigation as “a campaign” designed to “silence our client and to destroy his reputation through groundless accusations and suspicious statements.” Though some elements were removed from the final report, “diffuse, unsubstantiated accusations of abuse of power below the threshold of criminal law have remained,” Gessner wrote.
Homolka had stepped down or withdrawn from numerous posts in Jewish institutions, including the Abraham Geiger College, after the allegations came to light in May 2022. In January, he sold all shares of the Geiger College and its conservative sister school, Zacharias Frankel College, which he owned, to the Jewish Community of Berlin.
Geiger’s newly appointed leader, Rabbi Andreas Nechama, acknowledged in a pre-Rosh Hashanah mailing dated Sept. 7 “that the founding of the college has been fraught with hurt and pain” and apologized “to all who feel these hurts and injuries.”
The Reform seminary is not the only institution with ties to Homolka to come under scrutiny. Several institutions of liberal Judaism agreed to cooperate with the law firm’s investigation, according to the Central Council.
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The post Final investigation into prominent German Reform rabbi affirms abuse of power allegations appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.