Berlin – A Jewish group in Germany says it has reached an agreement with the government that will see Berlin double its funding to the nation’s Jewish community to euro10 million (about $13 million) starting in 2012.
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Central Council of Jews president Dieter Graumann said Wednesday the increase recognizes the community’s work to integrate new immigrants, educate religious leaders and work with the young people.
In 2003, Germany granted the Jewish community the same legal status as the nation’s Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches.
The nation’s Jewish population has grown to five times the size it was before German reunification in 1990, with some 250,000 now living here, according to the council.
Before the Holocaust, about 500,000 Jews lived in Germany.
a bit more expansion: Germany takes tax money and doles it out, directly, to various religious groups. So yes, taxpayers are.. supporting religions over there.
I visited Frankfurt, Germany in 1988, on the way back from EY. I tried to contact the Jewish Community Center, but it must have been closed, as there was no answer on the telephone. Prior to the El Al plane landing at Frankfurt, a view of downtown was seen from the plane. All of the skyscrapers and other buildings were very modern. Frankfurt was completely rebuilt, with the aid of the Marshall Plan.
It’s nice for the Jewish German community to be helped and recognized by the German government. However, it’s a subvention paid by the tax payers (income AND sales taxes AND other taxes). It shows how much western countries governemnts are exceeding their regalian role and use money in arbitrary/ contestable ways for political reasons. With 250,000 Jews there so let’s say 100,000 are actively working people. If each of them gives 100 euros a year to the community through many different initiatiatives, where do they get to? They get to 10 million euros. The government pays what they can afford for their community.
I toured Germany extensively last summer. I had been there 25 years before.
I was shocked at the high quality of life.
Re the “Jewish” community. There basically is none.
I was in the huge, gorgeous, Frankfurt shul and there was barely a minyan I was told the on RH and YK they get 200 elderly russian jews and some tourists, but they have an Israeli (chassidishe) Rov.
Jews today in Germany are predominantly made up of Russian immigrants who didn’t just pass thru but stayed and are doing extremely well being highly subsidized by the govt.
And Israeli immigrants who came to work and do business, some of them of a high criminal content.
There are virtually no “german” or “European” Jews there at all.
Maybe Jews should start moving to Germany, get some parnosso.
I have verified that although a common misconception there was never a cherem on returning to Germany nor could it of been enforcable. (Even the famous Cherem re Spain, is doubtful, although some great rabbonim pushed for it)
To #5 - You should not smear the entire Jewish community in Germany with the same brush. There has been a revival of Yiddishkeit in Berlin. There is at least one day school there, and a number of Kosher food stores. There are minyanim which are also well attended, on a daily basis. You should not judge Germany by Frankfurt. Don’t forget that the once thriving Jewish community of Frankfurt was wiped out during WW2. However, in Berlin, 1,000 Jews managed to hide in that city for the duration of the war. There are still German Jews left in Germany, although they are in a minority.
I won’t comment on the differing views concerning the right/wrong use of tax money in Germany compared to the U.S. Just to correct one point concerning the picture’s caption: at left this is clearly not Rav Amar shlit”a but the Rav of Frankfurt’s kehillo, R’ Menachem Halevi Klein shlit”a.