Under the motto "Living together", more than 1,400 members of Jewish communities participated in the Jewish Community Day in Berlin from December 14th-17th, 2023. With a speech Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier declared the Community Day open. Other prominent politicians were among the guests, including Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst.

The program of the three-day Community Day included topics such as the culture of remembrance, the restitution of looted art and artificial intelligence. Other topics addressed domestic policy, right-wing extremism and the Jewish Academy planned for Frankfurt am Main.

The panel discussion on “The Jewish Academy: Jewish perspectives on social discourse” was attended by Dr Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Prof. Dr Doron Kiesel and Sabena Donath, the future director of the Jewish Academy, and Hanna Veiler, President of the Jewish Student Union Germany, as well as Prof. Zvonko Turkali.

"What future tasks should this institution fulfil? Which influence does the architecture have to turn a building into a home for open social, cultural, political and religious discourse? Which key aspects will the future Academy contribute to contemporary Jewish thinking in Germany and Europe?" These were subjects for a lively debate during the one-and-a-half-hour event.

The event concluded with an image film about the Jewish Academy, which provided insights into the various rooms of the Academy. Visitors also had the opportunity to take a virtual tour of the building using VR glasses.

You will find the full program here!
You can access the website of the Central Council of Jews here!