JMB Journal 20:
A Is for Jewish

Germany is home to Jews from all over the world. Every generation of Jews must grapple with the question of identity anew. They study religious law, Jewish customs, and family history. They devote themselves to language, culture, and various aspects of immigration. When approaching topics such as antisemitism, the Middle East conflict, and the remembrance of the Shoah, Jews today are increasingly resisting the expectations and ideas of the non-Jewish majority society and staking out their own positions.The aim of our exhibition A Is for Jewish: Journeys through Now in 22 Letters is to provide insight into the rich diversity of Jewish life in Germany. This JMB Journal is an accompaniment to the exhibition.

Our authors, who look at Judaism from different perspectives, take up individual aspects of the show in their texts. People respond in lively and diverse ways to the question “What is Judaism?” Any attempt to answer this question requires a discussion of social change and its impact on religious communities. After all, one thing is clear: A Jew is not one thing.

With articles by Miriam Goldmann, Peter Schäfer, Barbara Honigmann, Fabian Schnedler, Tal Hever-Chybowski, and Alina Gromova, an interview with Tal Alon and Yuriy Gurzhy, and a photo series by Stephan Pramme.