In the past the Jüdisches Museum Berlin has repeatedly made negative headlines: we recall the communication surrounding a meeting of the director with representatives of the antisemitic Iranian regime, invitations to supporters of the anti-Israeli BDS campaign, a Jerusalem exhibition that neglected the Jewish and Zionist perspective, an event on Islamophobia with speakers who have connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, and most recently, by tweet, the intervention in the political debate to the detriment of Jews living in Germany. We therefore welcome Prof. Schäfer’s decision to resign, but at the same time fear that the strange agenda of the Jüdisches Museum Berlin of recent years cannot be stopped and turned into a positive one by his resignation alone. Prof. Schäfer is indeed a recognised scholar of Jewish studies, but he was nevertheless not equal to his role as museum director. However, he did not bear responsibility for all the failings alone. His merits in research are undisputed.
What is now needed from the highest level is the political will to draw personnel consequences in the board of trustees, the programme directorate and the leadership of the academy. The new leadership of the Jüdisches Museum must grasp the role of Zionism for Judaism and convey that Zionism is central to Jewish thinking. The Jüdisches Museum Berlin must change its orientation in such a way that people speak with Judaism and Zionism instead of about them.
As chair of the board of trustees, Prof. Dr Monika Grütters has a responsibility here to use the current opportunity for the reorientation of the Jüdisches Museum.
