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Battle lines deepen in bruising fight for control of Germany’s liberal Jewish institutions
BERLIN (JTA) — The fight over control of Germany’s Reform rabbinical school has taken a new twist — one that appears poised to shatter longstanding institutions within liberal Judaism here, and reforge them into something new.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany announced Thursday that it is bringing in an outside expert to help redesign the country’s Reform and Conservative rabbinical schools, to end the influence of a controversial Reform rabbi who stepped aside as rector amid allegations against him this spring but who remains enmeshed in the schools’ operations.
Gerhard Robbers, a professor emeritus of law and religion at the University of Trier, will consult with students and staff as he drafts the proposal, according to the Central Council, an umbrella group for all organized Jewish communities in Germany.
Robbers’ appointment came as the Union of Progressive Jews in Germany this week announced its own interim director for Abraham Geiger College, in what appeared to be a last-ditch effort to preserve control by Rabbi Walter Homolka over the seminary he founded in 1999.
The Central Council announced it could no longer work with the UPJ after the group’s move to install the new interim director, a striking fracture in an alliance that Homolka himself had pressed to create two decades ago.
At the same time, the UPJ could now splinter, with those who are loyal to Homolka facing off against those who believe change is needed.
“Some member communities are now considering leaving the UPJ and reorganizing under the Central Council. We feel we are not represented any more by the UPJ,” Rebecca Seidler, head of the liberal Jewish communities of Hanover and chair of the State Association of the Jewish Communities of Lower Saxony, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Rebecca Seidler, chairwoman of the Liberal Jewish Community of Hanover, Germany, sits in the synagogue there, Sept. 8 2020. (Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images)
In a sign of how deeply the tensions are cutting within Germany’s small community of liberal Jews, Seidler and her mother have wound up on opposing sides of the divide. Rebecca Seidler is the daughter of Katarina Seidler, the attorney whom the UPJ named this week as new interim director of the seminary. Rebecca Seidler described the differences within her family as “very difficult.”
Sources tell JTA that there is talk of a new alliance of liberal, egalitarian communities under the Central Council’s aegis. Josef Schuster, the council’s president, confirmed as much on Thursday, telling JTA that his group is in talks with representatives from communities across Germany.
“Those that wish to step out of the UPJ will be supported intensively, and also we will support them in creating a worthy representation of liberal/progressive Judaism in Germany,“ Schuster said.
The latest developments mark a dramatic new phase in a saga that has been unfolding since May, when allegations of sexual harassment against Homolka’s husband and a possible coverup at the seminary hit the news. Ensuing investigations by the University of Potsdam, under whose auspices the rabbinical schools are organized, and by a law firm commissioned by the Central Council looked into a growing array of accusations of abuse of power by Homolka.
Rabbi Walter Homolka, rector of the Abraham Geiger College, in the Liberal Jewish community’s synagogue in Hanover, Germany in December 2016. (Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Both investigations concluded that there was indeed abuse of power — a finding that Homolka has vigorously denied, and that the UPJ has contested.
In a post on its website, the UPJ had officially announced that an investigation it had commissioned had concluded that there was no proof of abuse of power.
Schuster of the Central Council — which represents some 100,000 Jews in Germany, of which the UPJ says 5,000 are members of its congregations, and is responsible for distributing government subsidies and so-called “religion tax” monies to local Jewish communities — told JTA that the post had convinced him that the “the UPJ is not to be taken seriously.”
“There are two studies that actually show abuse of power, but this is an organization that continues to cover up,” he said. The post was removed Thursday.
Schuster’s frustration deepened on Tuesday, when the UPJ and seminary installed Katarina Seidler as the interim director of Geiger College, two days after an election in which allies of Homolka assumed leadership of the organization. (Homolka had announced only that day that he would not run.) Just that morning, the Central Council had been speaking with Gabriele Thöne, still Geiger College’s interim director, about a “face-saving solution” that would involve her resignation and replacement by someone without ties to Homolka.
Katarina Seidler, then chair of the State Association of Jewish Communities in Lower Saxony, joined a session of the state parliament focused on antisemitism, Hanover, Germany, Oct. 23, 2019. (Sina Schuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
“Anyone who thinks they can just carry on providing a rabbinical education with the old followers of Homolka, with him continuing in the background of the entity that he — and not the UPJ — founded, with all its entanglements and dependencies, has not taken seriously in any way the results of the independent investigations of the University of Potsdam and the law firm Gercke Wollschläger,” Schuster said in a statement Wednesday.
Schuster told JTA that Geiger College is set up in such a way that Homolka has retained authority despite saying that he had stepped aside.
“It is not just a feeling that he is in control,” Schuster said. “It is the case on a purely legal basis.“
As yet, there has been no formal response from Abraham Geiger College to the Central Council’s withering condemnation. But Irith Michelsohn, the UPJ’s newly elected chair, told JTA in an email Thursday that her group would “definitely try to find a basis for discussion” with the Central Council.
“Perhaps this is difficult at the moment, but we will see what the new secular year will bring,” she said.
The UPJ move apparently also caught the World Union of Progressive Judaism unawares. The same day, the group had expressed support for Thöne along with “deep sadness and sorrow” following “the recent reports about the misconduct, and the hurt to individuals and their communities.”
In an open letter, WUPJ Chair Carole Sterling and President Rabbi Sergio Bergman set out a list of priorities and said they appreciated the ongoing commitment of federal and regional German ministries and the Central Council “to continue to fund Geiger College while new structures and leadership are put in place.” They also pledged their own assistance.
Support from the Central Council for Geiger College is likely to continue, sources say.
Gabriella Thone, interim director of Abraham Geiger College, in Berlin’s Rykestrasse Synagogue on the occasion of an ordination ceremony, Dec. 1, 2022. (Toby Axelrod)
All of the latest turmoil takes place days after the ordinations of four new rabbis and two cantors who studied at the Geiger College, which has become a symbol of the rebirth of Reform Judaism in the country of its founding. Held at the Rykestrasse Synagogue in former East Berlin, complete with organ music and a processional, the ceremony — which observers described as joyous — was likely the last before major changes to how the seminary operates.
Schuster said a new plan — with input from students, educators and rabbis, and in coordination with other major funders and the University of Potsdam — could be presented in the first quarter of 2023.
“Rabbinical training as a private business can no longer be an alternative in the future,” the statement concluded.
The announcement was welcomed by the International Masorti Movement, a partner and supporter of Zacharias Frankel College, the Conservative movement’s seminary, which like Geiger College is situated at the University of Potsdam. In a statement on Thursday, it called on all stakeholders “to listen to the voices of those who suffered from misconduct and to take the investigations of the University and of the law firm Gercke Wollschläger seriously, and work together for a new beginning, both regarding persons as well as structures.”
It is virtually assured that yet more slings and arrows will fly before all is said and done — and that Homolka continues to loom large in the organizations he built.
At the recent UPJ meeting where Homolka allies won election, “it became clear that there are two fronts in the UPJ,” Rebecca Seidler told JTA: “Those who support Homolka and want to separate from the Central Council, and those who are in favor of taking apart the existing structures, and who stand on the side of those affected.”
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Gershon Weiss’ poetic surprises
פֿאַראַיאָרן האָט דער תּל־אָבֿיבֿער „ה. לייוויק־פֿאַרלאַג‟ אַרויסגעגעבן אַ לידער־זאַמלונג פֿונעם דיכטער גרשון ווײַס. דאָס בוך, „אַלט־נײַע לידער פֿאַר דעם איין־און־צוואַנציקסטן יאָרהונדערט‟, איז בלויז 28 זײַטלעך, נאָר האָט אַן אוניקאַלן טעם, באַגלייט מיט דעם מחברס אייגענע אילוסטראַציעס.
ווען איך האָב צום ערשטן מאָל געעפֿנט די דאָזיקע אויסגאַבע, האָט מיך גלײַך פֿאַרחידושט דער אימאַזש, אַז דער באַראַן (אַן ער־שעפּס), וועלכער פֿיגורירט אין דער מעשׂה וועגן דער עקידת־יצחק, ווי ער דערקלערט אינעם ליד אַליין, איז „חנום דער ווידערמענטש־אָפּגאָט‟. אַ פּלוצעמדיקע אַסאָציאַציע… און נישט קיין צופֿעליקע!
אינעם אַלט־מיצרישן פּאַנטעאָן איז טאַקע דאָ אַזאַ פֿיגור, וואָס זײַן נאָמען לייענט זיך ווי „כנום‟. גרשון ווײַס האָט פֿאַרשריבן זײַן נאָמען אויף אַ כּמו־לשון־קודשדיקן אופֿן, כּדי אונטערצושטרײַכן די אוראַלטקייט פֿונעם דאָזיקן אָפּגאָט, אַ מענטש אַ באַראַן. באַקומט זיך, לויט דעם דיכטערס רעיון, אַז בעת דער עקדה האָט אַבֿרהם אָבֿינו מבֿטל געווען די דאָזיקע עבֿודה־זרה… צי נישט? זײַן ניט־לאַנגע פּאָעמע „עקדה־צײַטן‟ שליסט זיך מיט די ווערטער „און זיי זײַנען געגאַנגען ווײַטער‟. טאַקע געגאַנגען, אינעם בוכשטעבלעכן היסטאָרישן זין. די אַרכעאָלאָגן האָבן באַשטעטיקט, אַז בערך מיט 2,500 יאָר צוריק איז אין דער מיצרישער אינדזל־שטאָט עלעפֿאַנטינע אָנגעגאַנגען אַ סיכסוך צווישן די אָרטיקע דינער פֿונעם שעפּס־קולט און ייִדן, וועלכער האָבן דאָרט אויפֿגעשטעלט אַן אייגענעם בית־המיקדש.
אין „פּרקי־אָבֿות‟ שטייט געשריבן, אַז יענער באַראַן איז געווען צווישן די זאַכן און באַשעפֿענישן, וואָס זענען באַשאַפֿן געוואָרן בײַם סאַמע סוף פֿון די ששת־ימי־בראשית. אויב אַזוי, ווערט ער אין דער ייִדישער טראַדיציע טאַקע באַטראַכט ווי עפּעס אַ מיסטישע חיה. די פֿאַרבינדונג מיטן באַראַן־מזל טלה (Aries), אויך דערמאָנט אינעם ליד, איז גענוג גוט באַקאַנט. ס׳איז פֿאַראַן אַ דעה, אַז די עקדה־מעשׂה איז פֿאָרגעקומען אינעם חודש ניסן, אונטער דעם דאָזיקן הימלישן סימן.
אָט אַזעלכע קייטן פֿון היסטאָרישע און סימבאָליש־פֿילאָסאָפֿישע פֿאַרבינדונגען בויען זיך, ווען מע לייענט גרשון ווײַסעס דיכטונג. זײַן פּאָעזיע איז פֿול מיט ניט־טריוויאַלע קבלה־אַסאָציאַציעס און אויך, ווי עס וואַרפֿט זיך אין די אויגן, מיט פּסיכאָ־אַנאַליז: „אַ לולבֿ און אתרוג טרעפֿן זיך… ער גרין מיט חשק, זי העל און רונד‟. אינעם נאָכוואָרט דערציילט דער דיכטער, אַז אין די לעצטע דרײַסיק יאָר האָט ער געאַרבעט ווי אַ „פּסיכאָטעראַפּיסט אין פֿאַרשידענע געביטן‟. אויפֿגעוואַקסן איז ער אין די 1970ער יאָרן אין אַ ניו־יאָרקער פֿאָרשטאָט.
אין ווײַסעס וועלטלעכער משפּחה האָט מען אויף ייִדיש נישט גערעדט. אינעם יאָר 1977 האָט ער זיך געלערנט אין דער אינטענסיווער ייִדיש־פּראָגראַם פֿון ייִוואָ און קאָלומביע־אוניווערסיטעט, אָנגעהויבן כּסדר פֿאַרבעסערן זײַן שפּראַך־קענטעניש און אין 2008 אָנגעהויבן פּובליקירן זײַנע ייִדישע לידער אינעם זשורנאַל „אויפֿן שוועל‟. גיטל שעכטער, איינע פֿון די רעדאַקטאָרן פֿונעם דאָזיקן זשורנאַל, האָט מיר איבערגעגעבן, אַז דער דיכטער וווינט אין איר שטאָט טינעק, ניו־דזשערזי, האָב איך זיך מיט אים פֿאַרבונדן.
גרשון ווײַס האָט מיר איבערגעגעבן, אַז איצט איז ער אויף פּענסיע און האָט אַ סך צײַט אויף צו שרײַבן לידער. איז גאַנץ מעגלעך אַז ער וועט אַרויסגעבן נאָך אַ זאַמלונג. איידער ער האָט זיך אויסגעלערנט ייִדיש, האָט ער געשריבן פּאָעטישע ווערק אויף ענגליש, אָבער הײַנט וויל ער שאַפֿן פּאָעזיע דווקא אויף דער ייִדישער שפּראַך, און דווקא צונויפֿשמעלצן זײַנע „צוויי אָבסעסיעס – רעליגיע און פּסיכאָלאָגיע‟.
אין עטלעכע לידער, דערקלערט ווײַס, האָט ער געוואָלט אויסשילדערן די תּנ״כישע פּערסאָנאַזשן ווי קאָמפּליצירטע עמאָציאָנעלע מענטשן, נישט סתּם „מאָראַלישע אַרכעטיפּן‟. ווי אַזוי? האָט מיר דער דיכטער דערקלערט אויף ייִדיש: „דאָס ליד פֿליסט אַרויס פֿון דעם דיכטערס אומוויסיקייט אין אַן אומסטרוקטורירטער פֿאָרעם, געמישט מיט פּערזענלעכע געדאַנקען און פֿראַגמענטן פֿון דעם דיכטערס קולטורעלער (מסתּמא, פֿילקולטורעלער) ירושה‟. זײַנע באַליבטסטע דיכטער זענען יעקבֿ גלאַטשטיין און דער ענגלישער פּאָעט ט. ס. עליאָט.
ווײַס האַלט, אַז „אַ ריינע ייִדישקייט איז אוממעגלעך‟. פֿון קדמונים אָן האָבן ייִדן זיך פֿאַרבונדן מיט די מיצרים, כּנענים, גריכן און אַנדערע פֿעלקער, זענען געווען באַקאַנט מיט זייערע רעליגיעס און ממילא עפּעס דערפֿון געשעפּט. פּערזענלעך בין איך אויך מסכּים. הלוואַי זאָלן אַרויס מער אַזעלכע ביכער אויף ייִדיש, וואָס זענען גובֿר פֿאַרשפּרייטע קולטורעלע סטערעאָטיפּן, און העלפֿן שאַפֿן בריקן צווישן פֿאַרשיידענע קולטורן און צוגאַנגען צו דער מענטשלעכער עקזיסטענץ.
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First-ever empirical study of US rabbinate finds ‘shortage’ is more about fit than numbers
(JTA) — For years, synagogue leaders have said they can’t find enough clergy to fill their pulpits, leading to warnings of a nationwide rabbinic shortage. At the same time, openings for campus rabbis at Hillel chapters draw an average of 19 applicants each.
This mismatch between what rabbis want to do and the kinds of jobs available is among the many findings in the first-ever empirical study of the American rabbinate across denominations, released this week by the Atra Center for Rabbinic Innovation.
The study also examines the so-called “rabbinic pipeline” — the concern that declining enrollment at seminaries means too few people want to become rabbis. Here, too, the findings challenge conventional wisdom.
Surveying 450 people who considered the rabbinate but chose other careers, the study finds that lack of motivation was not a deciding factor. The most common barriers cited were the cost and duration of rabbinical school, the need to relocate, and concerns about the practicality of such a career.
In addition to these “would-be” rabbis, researchers surveyed nearly 1,500 others — including working and retired rabbis, current students, and seminary dropouts. They also interviewed leaders of rabbinical schools and associations, along with representatives of a wide range of rabbinic employers, while collecting recruitment and enrollment data.
Almost as notable as the findings is the diversity of those who took part. Participating organizations include every rabbinic institution from Reconstructionist and Reform to Conservative and Modern Orthodox, as well as all major non-denominational programs. Participation also came from umbrella groups representing Jewish summer camps, community centers, federations, and Hillel chapters. (Haredi Judaism was outside the study’s scope.)
“It’s a groundbreaking effort because there’s never been a comprehensive study of the rabbinate before, but it didn’t take much persuasion to get broad participation,” Atra’s executive director, Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, said in an interview.
She described an eagerness to get involved that was motivated by years of debate about the issues addressed in the study. In one breakthrough, Atra convened dozens of leaders of institutions and programs that cultivate Jewish leaders and ordain rabbis, spanning the denominational range, for a brainstorming session about tackling the rabbinic pipeline.
“Everyone’s been trying to address the problems and the challenges, and we haven’t actually had any shared good information and data to help us do that,” Epstein said. “People actually want to work together on this, because they recognize that no one can do it alone.”
The study does not offer hard and fast solutions, instead positioning itself as a “mirror and a map” for collective action. Here are some of the highlights.
1. Only about half of all rabbis work in synagogues.
Those who do tend to find their job overly stressful and exhausting. Other kinds of rabbinical jobs offer much higher job satisfaction.
About 56% of rabbis are in pulpit jobs. The rest work for nonprofits, as chaplains, for day schools and universities or as independent entrepreneurs. The researchers spoke to 222 people who have held jobs in both categories. They said that working for a synagogue pays better but that, by every other metric of job satisfaction, working outside the synagogue is significantly better.
The study highlights this difference but also notes with a tone of reassurance and awe that 97% of all rabbis said their jobs are rewarding.
2. After years of decline, rabbinical school enrollment appears to be stabilizing.
The widespread perception that the major denominational seminaries are graduating fewer students while newer and non-denominational schools are growing is validated in the study. The latter are now producing slightly more rabbis than the former. Over the past five years, enrollment declines at Conservative and Reform seminaries have stopped, suggesting that they’ve reached a new normal.
3. Most rabbinical students are women and most are LGBTQ. Many are converts.
Rabbinical students today reflect a far more diverse cohort than in the past. According to the Atra report, 58% identify as women, 30% as men, and 12% as nonbinary.
An estimated 51% identify as LGBTQ, a contrast made starker with survey data collected in the same study showing that only 15% of rabbis ordained 10 to 20 years ago are LGBTQ.
Meanwhile, 16% of rabbinical students are Jews by choice and 12% identify as a race other than white.
Both Atra and the researchers they commissioned to carry out the study caution against drawing sensational conclusions about the growing diversity. “There’s no data-driven evidence as to why it’s happening and what the implications of it are yet to be known,” Wendy Rosov, the study’s lead researcher, said in an interview.
4. Views about Israel or Zionism don’t factor heavily into decisions about whether to become a rabbi.
The past few years have seen some students drop out of rabbinical school in protest of what they say is anti-Zionism in the student body and dozens of students signing on to petitions that are harshly critical of Israel.
Atra didn’t collect data on how current and future rabbis feel about Israel. But it did check how whatever view they held factored into their motivation for the job. Only a small minority said they wanted to become rabbis as a way to promote Israel and an even smaller minority said they were worried of being silenced regarding their criticism of Israel.
The motivating factors people most often checked often were “a desire to serve others,” “I felt called by my love of Judaism,” “An interest in deepening their knowledge of Jewish text and traditions,” and “a desire to teach.”
5. A wave of rabbinic retirements is looming.
The Atra report estimates there are about 4,100 rabbis currently working across congregations, schools, nonprofits, campuses, and chaplaincies. But the profession is getting older only 6% are under 35, while a quarter are over 65.
With most rabbis ordained in their mid-30s and many staying in their roles for decades, the report warns that retirements may soon outnumber new entrants unless younger Jews are drawn into the field.
The report closes on a note of cautious optimism, calling for collective action rather than quick fixes. It outlines nine areas where collaboration could make the biggest difference — from easing the financial burden of rabbinical training to modernizing education, expanding non-congregational careers, and improving mentorship. Epstein is hopeful that the collaborative spirit embodied in the summer gathering could translate into shared solutions.
“This is a surmountable challenge,” she said.
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Trump formally requests pardon in Israeli legal system for Benjamin Netanyahu
(JTA) — President Donald Trump has made official a suggestion that he first issued on the floor of Israel’s parliament: that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be pardoned preemptively for his alleged crimes.
Trump made the case in a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog that Herzog’s office released on Wednesday. In it, Trump calls Netanyahu a “formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister” and characterizes his prosecution as “lawfare,” a term that when used pejoratively refers to the misuse of legal systems to achieve ideological ends.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted,” Trump writes.
He adds, “While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System and its requirements, I believe that this case against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very top adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political unjustified prosecution.”
The letter represents the kind of insertion into Israeli domestic politics that would have drawn ire in the past but have become relatively commonplace during Trump’s norm-busting second term. It follows Trump’s successful push for Israel to strike a ceasefire deal with Hamas that freed the Israeli hostages and suspended the two-year war in Gaza, and comes as Trump is seeking to safeguard the peace. Trump says in the letter that Netanyahu’s leadership is essential for allowing Israel to move forward.
“Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let be reunite Israel by pardoning him and ending this lawfare, once and for all,” Trump concludes, ending with one of his signature signoffs. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Unlike in the United States, where Trump has pardoned a number of political allies, including this week, Israel does not typically grant preemptive pardons. Netanyahu has not been convicted of any crimes.
Netanyahu has three legal cases open against him, on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. They relate to allegations that he accepted lavish gifts in exchange for political favors and that he used his position to secure positive media coverage. The trial in the cases began in 2020 and has proceeded in fits and starts, with hearings routinely canceled as Netanyahu attends to Israel’s affairs, including the multi-front war and a protest movement that Netanyahu and his allies allege has been stoked through foreign interference.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, dismissed both the prospect of a pardon and Trump’s letter. On X, he said that Israeli law required those receiving pardons to admit guilt and show remorse — neither of which Netanyahu has yet done. In the Knesset, he said, “We are a sovereign state. There is a limit to intervention.”
Herzog’s office issued a statement praising Trump’s efforts in the Middle East but emphasizing that requests for pardons must come through Israel’s official process, which requires that people directly implicated in the case, or their immediate family members, must file a formal request.
“The president holds great respect for President Trump and repeatedly has repeatedly expressed his appreciation for Trump’s unwavering support of Israel and his tremendous contribution to the return of the hostages, the reshaping of the Middle East and Gaza, and the safeguarding of Israel’s security,” the president’s office said in a statement. “Without detracting from the above, as the president has made clear on multiple occasions, anyone seeking a pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.”
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