Plans for joint research and teaching cooperation / Concert marks Goethe University’s 110th anniversary
Goethe University Frankfurt and the Jewish Academy operated by the Central Council of Jews in Germany [Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland] are planning to deepen their cooperation. The relevant cooperation agreement was signed on October 30, 2024, by Central Council President Dr. Josef Schuster and Goethe University President Prof. Enrico Schleiff. The signing ceremony was followed by a reception and concert in the hr broadcasting hall, celebrating Goethe University’s 110th birthday.
FRANKFURT. The Jewish Academy is currently being set up in Frankfurt. Once operational, it will become an important center for the study of Jewish history and religion, culture and intellectual thought and both take up and enrich current debates – whether with regard to research, academic teaching or interaction with society. With this in mind, Goethe University and the Jewish Academy have entered into an “institutional cooperation in the sense of a permanent and consistent academic collaboration”, as outlined in the contract signed last Wednesday. Headquartered in Frankfurt, the Jewish Academy considers itself “an intellectual hub and center of attraction for Jews from Germany and Europe, members of other religious communities and interested members of the public who are curious about Jewish, intercultural, interreligious or universalist issues.”
“This cooperation builds on our university’s rich historical tradition as well as numerous present-day collaborations,” explained President Schleiff. “As an institution established by Frankfurt citizens for both urban and wider society, we owe our existence in large part to the city’s Jewish citizens of the time, who were among the founders of the endowed university in 1914. In the early 1920s, Franz Rosenzweig founded the Freie Jüdische Lehrhaus [Free Jewish Teaching House], which had many touch points with Frankfurt University. To this date we maintain a strong focus on Jewish religious studies, philosophy and Jewish studies, complemented by topics that extend beyond the boundaries of religion, including the dynamics of religion, cultures of remembrance or ‘education after Auschwitz’, to name just a few examples. Both this and the previous semester, we held a lecture series titled ‘Antisemitism. Culture of Remembrance. Democracy’, together with the Central Council’s education academy, the Jewish Academy’s predecessor – also with a view towards the historical amnesia that has unfortunately manifested itself since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.”
“This cooperation is greatly important for the Jewish Academy and for Jewish life, not just in Frankfurt, but throughout Germany,” says Central Council President Dr. Josef Schuster. “It is here where common academic interests are lived, deepened and expanded. There already exist several projects that can now be cast in this new form. Universities are key to a modern society’s central nervous system, and their malfunctioning could plunge us all into the abyss. Ever since October 7, 2023, many German universities have become a setting for the darkest aspects of our society. It is partnerships like this that give us confidence that these forces will not prevail. By entering into this cooperation with the Jewish Academy, Goethe University Frankfurt is taking an important step together with Jewish life, thought and perspectives on our society in these turbulent times.”
“As a foundation university established on the initiative of many Jewish citizens, Goethe University Frankfurt has stood for equal opportunities and the integration of Jewish perspectives in academia and society for more than a century,” Hessian Minister President Boris Rhein said. “This cooperation with the Jewish Academy not only builds on and continues this tradition, it also deepens it in a special way and carries it into the future. In times like these, it is particularly important to truly live cultural and religious diversity and to strengthen our society’s democratic resilience by means of institutional cooperation.”
“This cooperation creates a very special bond between Goethe University Frankfurt, which owes its foundation largely to the efforts of large Jewish families, and the Jewish Academy run by the Central Council umbrella organization, which at the same time serves as the representative of Germany’s Jewish communities,” added Uwe Becker, Hessen’s state commissioner for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism and a state secretary in the Hessian Ministry of Finance, who conveyed minister Rhein’s greetings at the signing ceremony. “It combines the tradition of the Jewish Teaching House with the underlying idea that teaching and learning be linked and anchored in society. I am certain that this will result in a think tank for Jewish and non-Jewish perspectives on our society’s development that is unique in Europe.”
The strategic goals and fields of action outlined in the agreement signed in Frankfurt include the continuation of existing as well as the initiation of further research collaborations to address new research questions and perspectives from a transdisciplinary perspective and to enrich discourse. In addition, the cooperation seeks to strengthen collaborative research and cooperation with a focus on top international research, the joint acquisition of funds, as well as mutual support in the acquisition of partners. Beyond that, it sets the stage for research-oriented teaching, jointly supervised doctoral theses, the opening of selected events and joint lecture series, workshops, seminars or conferences as well as publications, among others.
Prof. Mirjam Wenzel, Director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt and honorary professor at Goethe University Frankfurt, also gave a keynote speech at the signing ceremony held on the premises of Hessischer Rundfunk (hr). Following the signing, Goethe University celebrated its 110th birthday in the hr broadcasting hall with a reception and a concert by the symphony orchestra of Tel Aviv University’s Buchmann-Mehta School of Music under the direction of renowned conductor Zubin Mehta, featuring works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Paul Ben-Haim. In addition to those present at the signing ceremony, other guests included Federal Minister of Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger and Dr. Ina Hartwig, Head of Frankfurt’s Department of Culture and Science. Tel Aviv University has been a partner of Goethe University Frankfurt since 1984. This special friendship was initiated by the joint Josef Buchmann Doctoral Scholarship Fund. The concert was a birthday present presented to Goethe University by honorary senator Dr. h.c. Josef Buchmann and Dr. h.c. Bareket Buchmann.
