Germany's Jewish leader looks toward a younger successor
Next president will in all likelihood be the first person in this office who was born after the Holocaust.
By The Associated Press Tags: Jewish World Israel newsThe president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany has decided not run for office again when her term runs out in November, hoping a younger person will take on the responsibilities of leading the country's roughly 100,000 Jews.
Charlotte Knobloch, 77, has made a decision that will mark a turning point in the history of the Jewish council because the next president will in all likelihood be the first person in this office who was born after the Holocaust.
After 1945, some 12,000 Jews lived in Germany, a mere 2 per cent of the 600,000 living in the country before World War II.
Knobloch is one of the few who survived the war and stayed. Born in Munich in 1932, the lawyer's daughter was hidden on a farm where she was passed off as the illegitimate child of a Catholic woman.
"I didn't want to return to Munich. I wanted to leave this country immediately because I couldn't imagine the times would change," Knobloch said in an interview with DPA last year.
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Germany's community is embarrassing. Knobloch wasn't ideal but I wonder who's gonna take her place. There are no decent people around. A a rule of thumb, all 'cool' jews in Germany stay well clear of the "community", all 3 of them. It is pleasant that in London, I can switch on the telly and a member of the British community says something, argues the case for Israel...and keeps talking...and I am still not embarrassed. Having spent 25 years+ in Germany, it is a new experience for me.
In 2007 the Israel male & female National Teams of Flagfootball decided to participate in Europe's 2nd biggest tournament in Germany for the inaugural time, even though several players and their families had doubts, maybe even fears. There was no need. In '09 they came again and this year it's also up for debate. The first step was made when the hosts of that event traveled to Israel in '06 and played there. One might say today that these teams partly want to travel to Germany's Bowl rather than to the others. And the Germans also bring 2 whole teams to the "Israel Bowl" in Eilat in March. Yes I guess, time brings changes sometimes...
The face of Judaism in Germany has changed a lot in recent years. Not only due to the fact that many representatives were born after the Shoah. The number of Jews in Germany tripled during the 90s due to immigration from Eastern Europe. The "new German Jews" are now a majority, while the old German Judaism that Knobloch represents has become a minority. The impossible task that the next leader of the council has to perform is bridging the two different traditions of these groups. Not an easy job...