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Too many converts? A cantor in Germany was removed because of a critical article Israel today

2022-09-12T04:26:28.196Z


Haznit published an article against the increase in conversion rates: "There are prayers where I feel as if I am participating in an interfaith event and not in a prayer in a synagogue" • A few days later she was removed from her position • A progressive rabbi: "Talking about a 'defect' is insolent, the immigrants enrich the the communities"


Singer Avital Gerstetter is known for her powerful voice.

When she stands in front of the Ark of the Covenant in the Orneinburgerstrasse Synagogue in Berlin, it seems as if her soprano voice is strong enough to remove the veil and open the Ark on its own.

But last summer, it was Gerstätter's written words that shook the nerves of the German Jewish community and turned the sought-after cantor, the first woman to serve in the position in Germany, into an unwelcome personality in the synagogue.

It all started with an opinion column she published in the German newspaper "Die Walt", a column in which she criticized the conversion rates that were too high, in her opinion, in Germany.

Under the title "Why the growing number of converts is a problem for Judaism", Gerstetter claimed that too many in Germany convert for the wrong reasons, with some trying to atone for their family's Nazi past or to identify with the victims so that they will not be identified with the murderers.

Gerstetter also criticized Grimm playing key roles in the Jewish world in Germany.

"I know that it is inappropriate to talk about conversion," wrote Gerstadter, using the Hebrew word in a German-language article, while quoting a verse that clarifies that there is no difference between a foreigner and someone who was born Jewish.

The dismissed singer.

Take legal action, photo: Wikimedia Commons

"But is this true always and everywhere?"

she asks in the article.

"The very large number of new Jews brought about a considerable change in Jewish life in Germany. During certain prayers and in some sermons I feel more like I am participating in an interfaith event than in a prayer in a synagogue, which I have been visiting since my childhood."

The only Jewish leader whose name is mentioned in the article is Rabbi Walter Homolka, a ger who founded Germany's Reform rabbinic seminary, "Abraham Geiger College" in 1999, and is now in the midst of a public controversy surrounding his conduct at the institution.

In the synagogue where she worked for two decades, her column left a strong impression.

The rabbi of the community, Geza Aderberg, is a convert who converted to Judaism while studying at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York in 1995.

After that, she received rabbi certification in Israel in 2003.

Some of the regular worshipers at the synagogue also live there.

Many saw Gerstetter's column as a personal attack directed against them.

Shock in the synagogue

"Those who converted in our synagogue and love her voice very much, are shocked," Aderberg said the day the article was published.

She did agree that Gerstadter raised some important issues.

"The phenomenon of so many converts in Germany is really interesting and sometimes very problematic, and should be considered soberly," Aderberg said.

"The awareness and openness on the subject is required from people who have converted, and I am among them."

However, Gerstetter, Aderberg emphasized, expressed a negative position regarding the majority of converts: "How can she lead us in prayers if this is how she feels about us?"

A few days after the publication of the article, a post appeared on the synagogue's Facebook page in which it was stated that Gerstadter "has been released from all her obligations until further notice, by the Jewish community of Berlin."

At the same time, another message appeared on the Facebook page that day in which it was stated that the synagogue "welcomes all worshipers, whether they converted or were born Jewish."

As a result, Gerstadter plans to take legal action against the Jewish community of Berlin due to her dismissal.

In her column, Gerstetter presented two central arguments.

According to her, although the conversions helped strengthen the ranks of the Jewish community after the Holocaust, the number of converts "increased sharply" in the last three decades and the Jewish communities were too quick to approve the conversions.

On top of that, she believes that too many of the new converts, in her opinion, become rabbis and community leaders, which leads to a Judaism that is not a product of experience and tradition but "theoretical Judaism, almost a new religion", as she says.

She calls this new religion "soulless".

"Out of all proportion"

Many German Jews came out against the article.

"It is clear that this is not a growing problem," said Rabbi Andreas Nechama, who chairs the General Conference of Rabbis, Germany's progressive rabbinical body, whose rabbinic court mainly deals with conversion requests from children of Jewish fathers seeking to anchor their status according to Halacha.

"Talking about a 'defect' is forbidden, even if only for ethical reasons, and it amounts to insolence. The immigrants enrich the communities."

Others found some justice in Gerstetter's words.

The conversions "were blown out of proportion. This is a symptom of trauma on both sides," said Barbara Steiner, a historian and therapist, who examined the conversions of Germans after 1945 in her book "Die Inszenierung des Jüdischen" "Preparing the Ground for Judaism" from 2005. Steiner herself converted after she married to her Jewish husband in 2000.

Although it is impossible to know the exact number of those living in Germany today, according to the official records they constitute only a small part of the entire Jewish population.

Today there are about 100,000 members of the Jewish communities that are members of the Central Council of German Jewry, and about that number of Jews who are not registered in official communities.

A large part of the Jews are veterans of the former Soviet Union who came to Germany after 1990. In the last 21 years, 1,697 people converted.

According to the Central Welfare Council of German Jews, this is an average of 80 people per year.

In 2021, 43 conversions were completed and most of them were Orthodox conversions, according to a source close to the Orthodox Court.

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-09-12

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