Programme
March 21st - March 22nd 2021TRANSITIONS -
THE JEWISH DIASPORA IN EUROPE SYMPOSIUM
Day 1
Sunday
March,
21st
JEWISH LIFE IN EUROPE TODAY
The diversity of Jewish culture in most of Central and Eastern Europe came to a violent end with the Shoah. Nonetheless, Jewish life began to re-emerge here after 1945. Major French and British cities became centers of a pluralistic Jewish culture. But in some places like Germany and Hungary this only started happening after the year 2000. What is the situation in the different places today? Can Jewish life assert itself within the European diaspora?
3 p.m.
Opening Remarks
Prof. Dr. Mirjam Wenzel Director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt
Words of welcome
Dr. Andrea Despot CEO of the EVZ Foundation
3.15 p.m.
Vanishing Diaspora – revisited
Prof. em. Bernard Wasserstein Prof. em. of History, University of Chicago
Response:
Prof. Dr. Michael Brenner Professor of Jewish History and Culture at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Director of the Center for Israel Studies at American University in Washington, D.C.
4 p.m.
The Third Pillar of a World Jewish Identity – revisited
Dr. Diana Pinto historian, Paris
Response:
Prof. Dr. Alfred Bodenheimer Professor of the History of Jewish Religion and Literature, University of Basel
4.45 p.m.
Discussion
Chair:
Prof. Dr. Mirjam Wenzel
4.45 p.m.
Break
6 p.m.
Video tour
of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt
7 p.m.
Transitions - the Jewish Diaspora in Europe
Talk with Prof. Dr. Fania Oz-Salzberger Professor of History, Haifa University and Dr. Doron Rabinovici writer and historian, Vienna
Chair:
Dr. Ruth Fühner moderator, author and critic
Day 2
Monday
March,
22nd
COLLECTING AND PRESENTING THE PRESENT
Jewish museums in Europe preserve the testimonies of past Jewish life and act in many places as institutions of remembrance of a Jewish culture that no longer exists there as it once did. What is their relationship to contemporary Jewish life in Europe? How do they portray the present and on the basis of what objects? Do they contribute to strengthening Jewish identities?
9 a.m.
Exhibiting Antisemitism and Political Discourse
Reflections from Joanne Rosenthal freelance curator, Sheffield
Collecting Migration – Exhibiting Diversity
Insights from the Jewish Museum Berlin
Dr. Tamar Lewinsky curator at the Jewish Museum Berlin
Collecting the Present – Necessities of Digital Collections
Sara Soussan curator at the Jewish Museum Frankfurt
Chair: Dr. Eva Atlan
10.30. a.m.
Break
10.45 a.m.
Discussion on Jewish museums’ relations to the present
Impulse: “The Colossal Mirror”: Jewish Museums Past and Future
Dr. Emily D. Bilski freelance curator, Jerusalem
Prof. Dr. Émile Schrijver General Director of the Jewish Cultural Quarter, Amsterdam , Dr. Hanno Loewy Director of the Jewish Museum Hohenems, Dr. Zsuzsanna Toronyi Director of the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, Budapest, Joanne Rosenthal, Dr. Tamar Lewinsky, Sara Soussan
Chair: Prof. Dr. Mirjam Wenzel
12 - 12.30 p.m.
break
Professional exchange in Zoom Break Out Room: Dr. Eva Atlan
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS AND STATUTORY FRAMEWORKS
Jewish religious practice is premised on the right of unconditional religious freedom. Jewish men and women have repeatedly been deprived of this right in the course of European history. Even today, specific religious practices, particularly kosher slaughter and circumcision, are criticized and restricted in some European countries. What protection does European law offer practicing Jews? Where is this at risk? Which conclusions for a Jewish future in Europe can be drawn from legal debates?
1 p.m.
New Challenges to Freedom of Religion in Europe
Dr. Grégor Puppinck Director of the European Center for Law and Justice, Strasbourg
Strategies to Protect Jewish Life in Legal Issues
Yohan Benizri Secretary-general of the Coordinating Committee of Belgian Jews, Brussels
2 p.m.
Panel discussion
Nicola Beer Vice-President of the European Parliament, Dr. Grégor Puppinck , Yohan Benizri, Rabbi Julian-Chaim Soussan Jewish Community Frankfurt
Chair: Esther Schapira journalist, formerly Hessischer Rundfunk
2 p.m.
break
THE FUTURE OF THE JEWISH DIASPORA
All over Europe new Jewish voices are speaking out publicly and with growing confidence, articulating a pluralistic and decisively diasporic image of themselves. At the same time, some Jews are reacting to the rise in anti-Jewish hatred by choosing to emigrate. How can we evaluate these contradictory developments with respect to a Jewish future in Europe? Which role do they play for the way individuals see themselves?
3.15 p.m.
Introduction
Prof. Dr. Dr. Michel Friedman journalist, philosopher, lawyer, and managing director of the Center for Applied European Studies at the University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt
3.30 p.m.
Panel discussion
Laura Cazés psychologist, Frankfurt, Chajm Guski blogger, Gelsenkirchen, Yves Kugelmann journalist, Basel Dr. Zsófia Kata Vincze scientist, Budapest, Marc Weitzmann journalist and writer, Paris
Moderation: Sara Soussan and Prof. Dr. Mirjam Wenzel
4.45 p.m.
Discussion summary
Prof. Dr. Dr. Michel Friedman
5 p.m.
Parting words / conclusion
Prof. Dr. Mirjam Wenzel
