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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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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
The post Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
The post Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.