New Paper Covers Revival of German Jewish Life

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A Jewish newspaper launched in Germany this week aims to portray the resurgence of Jewish life in the country to a still-skeptical international public. "I don't want Hitler to have the last word" on nearly 2,000 years of German-Jewish history, its founder Rafael Seligmann tells SPIEGEL ONLINE.

An English-language Jewish newspaper was launched in Berlin this week with the aim of showing foreign audiences that Jewish life in Germany is starting to flourish.

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The big change came after German unification in 1990, when the government made it easier for Jews from the states of the disintegrating Soviet Union to move to Germany. Almost 200,000 came -- which didn't please Israel -- and Germany became home to the world's fastest-growing Jewish population.

Today, more than 100,000 Jews belong to religious communities, and the total population with a Jewish background is estimated at over 200,000, including some 20,000 Israelis who have moved to Germany. That compares to 600,000 before the Holocaust.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,807118,00.html

Stolen from Xchrom in Good Reads.

[Little Tich]

1. I saw a piece about this on Deutsche Welle a few days ago.

This is very good news, I wish them luck.

[bemildred]

2. I've been watching that since I came here, or a bit after, say 2004.

I think it is very cool, the revivial of Jewish culture - in Germany in particular - and Europe in general.

[Little Tich]

3. Yeah, Deutsche Welle is good.

I also watch Al Jazeera for breaking news, their coverage of the Arab Spring is excellent.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. Very interesting, though the "swipes" about Israel served no purpose.

[bemildred]

5. Well, it's Der Spiegel.

You don't want to expect too much.

[Boojatta]

6. Why do Islamists oppose the presence of Jews in Germany?

There are other challenges as well. Synagogues and many other Jewish sites across the country remain under round-the-clock police guard, not just due to the threat of Islamist terrorism, but also to protect them from neo-Nazis, especially in the former communist east of Germany.

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7. They are religious fundamentalist bigots? nt

[Boojatta]

8. The government of Iran has some bigoted religious policies.

For example, consider how people of the Bahai faith are treated by the Iranian government.

However, there are some Jews living in Iran, and I'm not aware of any Iranian government plan to force them out.

A policy of wanting all Jews to be removed from Germany is common to both the original Nazis and neo-Nazis. Why would Islamists want to join that club, and why would they have any particular agenda for Germany, a country that has never been Islamic?

[bemildred]

9. Indeed.

"For example, consider how people of the Bahai faith are treated by the Iranian government. "

Definitely a bigoted religious policy.

"However, there are some Jews living in Iran, and I'm not aware of any Iranian government plan to force them out."

Yes, the government of Iran seems to find them convenient to have around. I've seen a few stories about them.

"A policy of wanting all Jews to be removed from Germany is common to both the original Nazis and neo-Nazis. Why would Islamists want to join that club, and why would they have any particular agenda for Germany, a country that has never been Islamic?"

I doubt that there is any one answer to that question, though it does seems clear they don't share the friendly attitude towards Jews of the Iranian government. And that seems odd since they are both Islamists, right? I think the Iranian government's attitude is easy enough to understand and very pragmatic: it makes good propaganda; but it's a lot harder to make sense of the German Islamists attitude, at least as you represent it, they seem quite irrational.