The WerteInitiative – jüdisch-deutsche Positionen e.V. and the Kurdische Gemeinde Deutschland e.V. cordially invite you to the first Kurdish-Jewish Congress on 7 September 2025 in Berlin.
The congress brings together Jewish and Kurdish actors from politics, academia, civil society and the media in order to discuss shared challenges and future prospects. At the centre are antisemitism, hostility towards Kurds and the growing influence of Islamist and nationalist ideologies – in particular from Turkey, Iran and parts of the Arab world.
At the same time the congress is intended to create space for the exchange of shared values, experiences and strategies – with the aim of forming new alliances and standing up together for a strong, free and democratic society.
The event is expressly also aimed at people who are neither Jewish nor Kurdish, but who are interested in the topics and perspectives and would like to become involved in solidarity.
Main topics:
- History and present of the Kurdish-Jewish alliance
- The rise of antisemitism and hostility towards Kurds in Germany
- Influence and modes of operation of Islamist and nationalist networks
- Germany’s Middle East policy: perspectives on Turkey, Iran, Syria and Israeli-Kurdish relations
- Feminist perspectives in the Kurdish-Jewish context
- Kurdish-Jewish criticism of currently dominant postcolonial approaches
The event offers various panels, topic-specific breakout sessions and a joint dinner. Participation is free of charge.
14:30 start, doors open from 13:30
18:30 joint dinner
21:00 end of the event
Moderation: Alina Stiegler & Leonard Kaminski
The event is fully booked and registration is no longer possible!
The organisers reserve the right to make use of their right of domicile and to refuse admission to the event, or to exclude from it, persons who belong to right-wing extremist or Islamist parties or organisations, who can be assigned to the right-wing extremist or Islamist scene, or who have already come to notice in the past through racist, nationalist, antisemitic, conspiracy-ideological or otherwise misanthropic statements.Confirmed so far:
Christoph de Vries (keynote)
Shila Erlbaum
Further speakers have been invited!
