Jewish Life in Germany – Seminar of the GdP in Berlin

There are topics that have accompanied me for many years. Jewish life in Germany is one of them. Perhaps because it touches my own story.

For three days, I had the opportunity to co-organize and accompany a seminar of the German Police Union (Gewerkschaft der Polizei – GdP) in Berlin as a speaker. The participants were education officers of the GdP from across Germany – people who pass on knowledge within the police, shape attitudes, and act as multipliers in their daily work.

More Than Protection – Seeing the People

Antisemitism in Germany is not an abstract debate. Synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers are under police protection. For many police officers, this is part of their professional routine. For Jewish families, it is part of everyday life.

This is exactly where the seminar began – not with the question of how to protect, but whom we are protecting.

A visit to a Berlin synagogue was not a formal agenda item. After a welcome by Rabbi Ehrenberg, the focus immediately shifted to fundamental questions: What is Judaism? What does Jewish identity mean – religious, cultural, secular?

“Those who protect should also understand whom they are protecting.”(Education officer, GdP)

The first day ended together in a kosher restaurant – with many open questions and conversations that continued long after the evening was over.

Police Routine Meets Jewish Everyday Life

The second day led directly into Jewish everyday life in Berlin: a rabbinical seminary, a conversation with a police rabbi, shopping in a local kosher supermarket, and a visit to a Jewish high school. These were not just insights, but opportunities for very concrete discussions about security, education, and daily life – in direct exchange with the relevant representatives of the Jewish community.

Another important moment was the meeting with Makkabi Germany and the youth football director of TuS Makkabi Berlin, who shared his personal story as a player and coach. He spoke openly about his weekly contact with the police before and after matches.

We also learned about “Meet a Jew”, a project of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Here too, the exchange was deeply personal – all questions were allowed, and explicitly encouraged.

Something shifted during this day.

Suddenly, it became visible how much security is part of Jewish everyday life – not as an exception, but as background noise.

“We live normal lives – but never without protection.”(Conversation with a member of the Jewish community)

At the same time, it became clear how vibrant and ordinary Jewish life is despite everything: children going to school, young people training, people shopping, laughing and debating.

Antisemitism in Practice – Not in the Abstract

The third day was structured differently on purpose. After a guided tour of the Chabad Pears Campus, there was no outward-looking perspective and no geopolitical debate. Instead, we had a very concrete conversation with the Berlin State Commissioner for Antisemitism.

We spoke about developments, data, and gray areas. About where freedom of expression ends and criminal offense begins. And about antisemitism that often starts quietly – long before it becomes legally relevant.

“Antisemitism often begins not with violence, but with language.”(Berlin State Commissioner for Antisemitism)

What Remains – And What Comes Next

For me, the strength of this seminar did not lie in the amount of information provided, but in the connection between knowledge, encounter, and professional practice.

The German Police Union created a space in which protection was not understood merely as an assignment, but as a way to enable Jewish life. This moment reminded me that security does not begin at the scene of an incident. It begins much earlier – in education.

That is why it is so important that this format does not remain a one-time moment. Further seminars in regional education centers of the German Police Union are already being planned, in order to make these conversations, perspective shifts, and encounters possible beyond Berlin as well.

“Formats like this don’t have an immediate effect – but they have a lasting one.”

Protecting Jewish life in Germany means more than concepts and presence.It means seeing the people.

My special thanks go to the Jewish institutions and conversation partners for their openness and willingness to engage in honest dialogue, and to the German Police Union for the trust and courage to jointly carry out such a seminar for the first time.

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