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Students demonstrate against a pro-Palestine rally at the FU Berlin
Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
Some stay away from campus out of fear, some can only work with personal protection, others hide their identity: many Jews who teach at German universities no longer feel safe in their workplace.
“Anti-Semitism has increased dramatically since October 7th, and there is no reason to think that things are different at universities as a microcosm of society,” says Julia Bernstein, professor of discrimination and inclusion in immigration society at Frankfurt University Applied Science.
The professor has joined forces with 70 other Jewish teachers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to form the “Network of Jewish University Lecturers”. The network is intended to give them a voice and counteract increasing anti-Semitism.
The goal, the founders write, is to work with university management to “develop effective concepts for the fight against anti-Semitism and for Jewish life at universities and in research.” It is about implementing targeted measures based on the federal government's national strategy against anti-Semitism and for Jewish life.
The teachers also want to network with Jewish students and other Jewish university employees, such as those in administration, and support them through contact points and mentoring. They also want to organize cross-university events and studies that deal with Jewish life, Jewish identities and the analysis of anti-Semitism.
The model for the new network was the Jewish Student Union of Germany (JSUD), which has been taking care of the concerns of Jewish students since 2016. Bernstein reports that many professors joined the initiative within a very short time. »This confirms our research findings that Jewish identity is not normal in Germany. As a Jew, you can’t just be who you are.«
There are very different people in the network from all kinds of specialist areas, says Bernstein, who emphasizes that she cannot speak as a representative of all members. Unlike them, many of the Jewish professors do not even deal with the topic of anti-Semitism due to their field of expertise. “The turning point of October 7th forced many to ask themselves the question of how to live as Jews in Germany,” says Bernstein.
In addition to Bernstein, the founders include the pianist Roglit Ishay, professor of music at the Freiburg University of Music; Haya Schulmann, computer science professor at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main; Michael Waidner, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology in Darmstadt and Deidre Berger, partner of the Berlin Tikvah Institute and long-time head of the American Jewish Committee in Germany.
The study “Jewish Perspectives on Anti-Semitism in Germany,” in which Bernstein was involved, demonstrated in 2017 that a majority of Jews in Germany refrain from displaying Jewish symbols such as the Star of David or a kippah out of fear.
Many people had already thought about emigrating before October 7th. “There is still no research into how the situation of Jews developed after October 7th,” she says. "But the reports from those affected suggest that not only the feeling of danger has increased significantly, but also the actual danger."
The new network should therefore offer a “safe space” in which those affected can exchange ideas and support each other, says Bernstein. »The educational or academic discussion of the topic of anti-Semitism is important. Now, however, it's about ensuring security for Jewish actors, at the universities and of course beyond."