Yonathan in Berlin - July 2025

On Sunday, I had the chance to meet Hanoch Katsir, a friend and colleague who is also working on a project that is supported by Netzwerk Israel and EVZ. I planned on 'just' having coffee with him for half an hour and then visiting one more museum. We ended up talking for more than two hours, discussing our work and families, how the situation in and of Israel affects our work, the importance of outside support for civil society in Israel, and our personal and professional fondness for Germany in general and Berlin in particular. That particular museum will have to wait for another day, later this week. That same day, the Museum for German History offered free entrance and guided tours, because of the national memorial day for the failed putsch attempt on 20.7.1944. Before I met Hanoch, I visited two interesting, well-made exhibitions at the museum, 'Roads Not Taken' (What could have happened at crucial points in 19th and 20th century German history, includi...

Today, Stefanie Avital of the German Desk at my school, the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa, Israel, and I had the chance to meet Greta and Maja of the Netzwerk Israel , which - supported by the EVZ Foundation - gives me a scholarship to stay and work here in Berlin for over two weeks. As soon as I heard from Greta that I had received the scholarship, I contacted her to make an appointment. As with my colleagues from House of One, I wanted to meet Greta and Maja in person, so that future communication and cooperation would be easier and more effective. I wanted Stefanie, who lives in Berlin, to join me, because I thought it important for her to learn about the work of the Netzwerk and for them to know more about what we do at Leo Baeck. And all that is exactly what happened. It was a really good meeting, everybody learnt something, I think. For me and for my school, which invests lots of time, energy and (wo)man power in what is commonly known as shared existence projects and vari...

On this weblog, I'll be writing about my work and experiences during my stay in Berlin in July 2025. With the support of Netzwerk Israel (a cooperation of the EVZ Foundation (Remembrance, Responsbility, and Future ), the New Israel Fund Germany and other NGOs), I am staying in the German capital for over two weeks. Together with staff members of House of One , I'll be developing a project in which Jewish, Muslim and Christian students in Israel and Germany will learn together about certain values. In my free time, I will be upgrading an article that I wrote in cooperation with Centropa last year, which can be used as a guide to 50+ monuments and memorials in Berlin that deal with persecution by and resistance to the Nazi regime. I want to visit all the monuments and museums, take pictures, and see which ones I think are (the most) suitable and should be given the highest, medium and less priority for visits with students. This way I can work on two subjects, Jewish-Muslim-Ch...