European organisation of Rabbis moves to Germany

The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) will move its headquarters from London to Munich. The deal is sealed on Tuesday. The Bavarian state government has promised to support the work of the Rabbinical Conference and its nine employees with 1.5 million euros per year.

The new headquarters will be located in a modern office in the city centre of Munich. The location is also close to the Israeli Consulate General and to the former headquarters of the National Socialist Party (NSDAP) of the Second World War, Religion.orf writes.

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Spokesperson Oliver Rolofs from the Rabbinical Conference explains that the new location, so close to the NSDAP headquarters, was chosen on purpose. “We want to show all anti-Semites, haters of Israel and extremists who will win at the end of history.”

Public presence

According to Religion.orf, it is unique that the Bavarian authorities worked so actively to get the Conference of European Rabbis to move to Munich. On the other hand, the city has a lively Jewish community and an “excellent infrastructure”, which are beneficial for the CER.

From its headquarters, the organisation wants to strengthen the public presence of Jewish life. This is done by, for example, training for rabbis and their wives so that they can play a more important role in the religious communities, Rolofs says.

Russia

The Conference of European Rabbis says to have 800 active members who live all over Europe. The organisation is led by Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the former chief Rabbi of Russia.

Currently, Goldschmidt is residing in Israel. However, Rolofs says that the Rabbi will live in Munich for half of every month. In addition, Goldschmidt will be teaching as a visiting professor at the Technical University. There, he will talk about the ethical questions that arise with the invention of new technologies.