Passover is and remains a landmark for the Jewish community, celebrating freedom and self-determination. Every year, we become more aware of our history and the significance of these central, enduring values. Even in modern Western societies, which supposedly universally orient themselves toward freedom and self-determination, this process of self-affirmation is unavoidable, perhaps even more important than in societies of unfreedom.
Heinrich Heine once wrote: "The love of freedom is a prison flower, and only in prison does one feel the value of freedom" – whether in ancient Egypt or in authoritarian regimes and dictatorships of our time, in which 70 percent of the world's population lives and which thus inevitably determine the fate of our world, for example, through a majority in the United Nations. At Passover, I often think of these people for whom freedom and self-determination are usually only a dream.
For us Jews, this dream is part of our identity. It was at its strongest for us especially in the darkest hours of our history. This was also the case after the abyss of the Shoah. Just five years after the end of the Second World War and this horror on earth, the Central Council of Jews in Germany was founded in Frankfurt am Main.
The founding was an expression of the will to take the freedom and self-determination of the Jews in this country into their own hands. With its Basic Law, the young Federal Republic had set out on a path that the Jews in Germany could follow. It promised them a homeland; a homeland that many had enjoyed in Germany for centuries, a homeland that Germany had become, or is still becoming, for others over the years.
Seventy-five years ago, the work of the Central Council was initially dedicated primarily to supporting Jews in their emigration. Over time, the Central Council became the social, religious, and political representative of Jewish life in Germany. As an institution, it has always stood by the values of our Basic Law, which it defends – for the benefit of the Jews and for the benefit of Germany.
We have been committed to democracy for 75 years. We have also been committed to the people of Germany, especially Jews, for 75 years, but we defend democratic values for all citizens. This, too, is the lesson and legacy of the Passover story.
We can also understand the "end" of this story as the culmination of the rule of liberal democracy—to quote the often misunderstood Francis Fukuyama in a slightly modified form. However, it does not free us from the ongoing commitment to our liberal values. There is no "end" in the temporal sense; you can read that in Fukuyama's work, too.
Nor does it release the Central Council from its duty to consistently stand up for our vision: the vision of a Jewish community in Germany that is committed, that stands together and for one another, and a Jewish community that determines its own place in society. Our liberal democracy here in Germany and our society, open in the best and most militant sense, are the shining guarantors of this vision.
But even these guarantees are flickering. Hatred of Israel and Jews has penetrated from the growing extremes into the mainstream of society under a blanket of comfort and sleepwalking disregard: This has been one of the bitter realizations since October 7, 2023. This blow hits us particularly hard at Passover. Our thoughts are with the families of the hostages. It is a celebration of family and faith – many Seder tables are still incomplete, some never will be.
Following the massacre in Israel and the horrific scenes, there was a great deal of solidarity from the top brass of our German government, too. It is authentic and honest, but one often gets the feeling that many of the words get lost in the twists and turns of the political system. Something must change in Germany, and this also applies to the protection of Jewish life.
Despite all the rhetoric, too much remains unclear at present: universities are still places of fear for Jewish students, cultural policy has still not found an effective means of combating the promotion of antisemitism, and the indifference of the Federal Republic's foreign policy practice remains appalling. It was a strong signal that the new President of the Bundestag also dedicated her closing remarks to precisely these issues in her inaugural speech. Now, action must follow. The emerging federal government must also address these challenges.
We know that the Federal Republic of Germany is a state for Jews; a state that, from its very foundations, protects and promotes Jewish life. Those who, like the AfD, seek to undermine these foundations are a threat to Jewish life in Germany.
For 75 years, the Central Council has been a companion to German society. As part of this state, we will continue to stand up for democracy, freedom, and self-determination and oppose any disregard for these values—not just at Passover, but every day. We won't walk through the desert to achieve this, but we will certainly cross the occasional valley.
This editorial was originally published in German in Jüdische Allgemeine.
