Circumcision: Identity Politics and / or Health Issue?

Talk by Sander L. Gilman (video recording available)

The current debate over boys’ circumcision in the USA and Europe returns time and again to the question of whether this intervention has a positive or negative impact on health. The history of these claims and their implications is not as straightforward as both sides like to portray. Tracing it back throws light on the ideological motives behind this debate.

recording available

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The Old Building is marked in green

Where

Old Building, level 2, Great Hall
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin

Where, when, what?

Video recording of the talk by Sander L. Gilman

A cooperation with the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism

Where, when, what?

When8 May 2013
Where Old Building, level 2, Great Hall
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
See location on map

Video Recordings: Watch Past Museum Events (85)

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Watch Past Museum Events

We film select events, such as conferences, panel discussions, book presentations, and our lecture series.
Déjà-vu? A New Search for Old Answers

Online Lecture and Discussion with Ofer Waldman and Moshe Sakal

Lecture/Discussion
12 Jun 2025
Déjà-vu? A New Search for Old Answers

Online Lecture and Discussion with Ofer Waldman and Delphine Horvilleur

Lecture/Discussion
22 May 2025
Joshua Cohen in Conversation on Inventories: The Legacy of Salman Schocken

Part of the exhibition program

Discussion
20 May 2025
Paradoxes of Democracy

Panel discussion on the relation of the constitution and its protection by the intelligence service

Discussion
4 Mar 2025
Happy Birthday, Hans Rosenthal!

Celebrating the 100th birthday of an icon

Event
2 Apr 2025
In Two Worlds

Conversation with Eyewitness Jack Weil from Amsterdam (in German)

Eyewitness Talk
10 Mar 2025
Life and Trajectory of a Jewish Family from Baden

Conversation with Contemporary Witness Kurt Salomon Maier (in German)

Eyewitness Talk
28 Oct 2024
KOLOT – קולות – Voices

Perspectives on October 7 (in German)

Discussion
9 Oct 2024
Hidden in Enschede

Conversation with Contemporary Witness Herbert Zwartz (in German)

Eyewitness Talk
16 Apr 2024
Tolerance of Ambiguity and Antisemitism

Lecture by Ilka Quindeau as part of the series Where Does the Truth Lie? On the Tolerance of Ambiguity by Natan Sznaider (in German)

Lecture/Discussion
13 May 2024
Tolerance of Ambiguity and the Jewish Perspective

Opening of the lecture series Where Does the Truth Lie? On the Tolerance of Ambiguity by Natan Sznaider (in German)

Lecture/Discussion
10 Apr 2024
The Dream of a Jewish-Arab Orient

Lecture by Sebastian Schirrmeister on the writer M. Y. Ben-Gavriêl, part 5 of the Lecture Series The Imagined Orient, in German

Lecture/Discussion
14 Feb 2024
A Time Machine Made of Glass – E.M. Lilien’s View of the Hebrew Orient in Moses (Design for a Glass Window)

Lecture by Shelley Harten, part 4 of the Lecture Series The Imagined Orient, in German

Lecture/Discussion
23 Jan 2024
From Yeshiva to Cairo: How Gustav Weil became a Pioneer in the Study of the Qur’an

Lecture by Susannah Heschel, part 3 of the Lecture Series The Imagined Orient

Lecture/Discussion
13 Dec 2023
Approaching the “Orient” through pictures – the Life and Work of Jewish photographer Hermann Burchardt.

Lecture by Stefan Litt, part 2 of the Lecture Series The Imagined Orient, in German

Lecture/Discussion
8 Nov 2023
“Orient” – A Magic Word? On the German-Jewish History of a Term

Lecture by Kathrin Wittler, Part 1 of the Lecture Series The Imagined Orient, in German

Lecture/Discussion
9 Oct 2023
Boychiks in Berlin!

An evening of comedy with YidLife Crisis

Event
15 Jun 2023
Theodor Herzl. Statesman Without a State

Lecture and Discussion with Derek Penslar on the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Establishment of Israel, in German

Lecture/Discussion
31 May 2023
I'm Writing You From Berlin. An Evening with the Lasker-Wallfisch Family

Anita Lasker Wallfisch and Raphael Wallfisch join Maya Lasker-Wallfisch in an evening of music and conversation

Reading/Discussion
7 Feb 2023
Vanishing Points of Memory. On the Holocaust and Colonialism in the Present Day

A conversation with Natan Sznaider and René Aguigah, in German

Discussion
31 Jan 2023
Reconciliation with Evil: Story of a Survival

Book Presentation with Leon Weintraub, in German

Reading/Discussion
27 Oct 2022
Albert Einstein, Hans Kaufmann and Zionism

An unknown letter

Symposium
12 Sep 2022
Read the Signs

An evening to mark the 70th anniversary of the Night of Murdered Poets, in Yiddish and German

Reading/Discussion
14 Aug 2022
Symposium on the 70th Anniversary of the Night of Murdered Poets

Part of the Summer Program for Yiddish Language and Literature, in Yiddish, English and German

Symposium
14 Aug 2022
Mendelssohn Discourses: Media Revolution – Publicity, Celebrity, A Flood of Images

Caspar Battegay and Shmuel Feiner talk with curator Inka Bertz and Frederek Musall.

Panel Discussion
5 Jul 2022
Mendelssohn Discourses: Enlightenment – Fake News, Sentimentality, Reason

Philosophers Carolin Emcke and Hannah Peaceman in conversation with Frederek Musall and the curators Inka Bertz and Thomas Lackmann, in German

Panel Discussion
4 May 2022
Emancipation and Law

On the history of jurisprudence and Jewish equal rights – book launch and panel discussion, in German

Reading/Discussion
26 Apr 2022
“Ich kämpfe gegen alles, was mich niederdrücken will“ (I Fight Against Everything that Tries to Oppress Me)

The diary of Jewish communist resistance fighter Karl Neuhof and correspondence with his family, in German

Reading/Discussion
11 Apr 2022
Rafi, Judenbub. Die Rückkehr der Seligmanns nach Deutschland

Book presentation and discussion with Rafael Seligmann, publicist, political scientist and historian, and Hetty Berg, director of the Jewish Museum Berlin, in German

Reading/Discussion
24 Mar 2022
Staging Jewishness

Artist talk with the photographer Frédéric Brenner

Artist Talk
2 Mar 2022
“The Lonely Living Stars”

Concert for the Memorial Day of the Victims of National Socialism, in German

Concert
27 Jan 2022
Shtetl Berlin All-Star Concert

Hanukkah 2021: Candle lighting with Yiddish songs, instrumental music and dance

Concert
2 Dec 2021
Iber der grenets / Crossing the Border: Yiddish Literature and Culture Today

Presentation of an extensive collection of Yiddish short stories, in German and Yiddish

Reading/Discussion
20 Nov 2021
Jews Don’t Count?

Book launch and talk with the author David Baddiel, Sascha Chaimowicz, Marina Chernivsky and Daniel Donskoy, moderated by Jo Frank

Reading/Discussion
26 Oct 2021
Is anyone still waiting for the Messiah? – Jewish and Christian Views

With Prof. Christoph Markschies (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and Prof. Daniel Krochmalnik (University of Potsdam), in German

Discussion
24 Aug 2021
Yael Bartana – Redemption Now

Digital opening event with Yael Bartana, Hetty Berg, Shelley Harten and Gregor Lersch
Language: mainly in English, with brief sections in German

Exhibition Opening
3 Jun 2021
The 2nd DAGESH Art Award goes to Talya Feldman

& Opening of the Installation The Violence We Have Witnessed Carries a Weight on Our Hearts Language: English and German

Exhibition Opening
20 May 2021
In Celebration of Daniel Libeskind’s 75th birthday

with Daniel Libeskind, JMB Director Hetty Berg, and film director Axel Fuhrmann, moderated by Sonja Marx of Saarland Broadcasting

Discussion
4 May 2021
Shtetl Berlin All-Star Concert

Hanukkah 2020: Candle lighting with Yiddish songs, instrumental music and dance

Concert
12 Dec 2020
Shared History

Virtual Conference on 1,700 years of Jewish life in German-speaking lands, in German

Conference
7–9 Dec 2020
Conversation with the Artist Wendy Ewald

With Wendy Ewald and Gregor H. Lersch as part of the exhibition This Place

Artist Talk
5 Mar 2020
The Last Veit Simons from Berlin

One of Berlin’s oldest Jewish families in a transnational story of class, gender, and sexuality
With: Anna Hájková and Maria von der Heydt
Language: German, no subtitles

Reading/Discussion
11 Dec 2019
Conversation with the Artist Thomas Struth

With Thomas Struth (photographer) and Theresia Ziehe (curator of photography), related to the exhibition This Place, in German

Artist Talk
5 Dec 2019
About a Tea Bowl

Discussion with brief presentations about interwoven experiences of post-Soviet Jewish migration, in German

Lecture/Discussion
27 Nov 2019
Ruth Wodak: Swing to the right?!

Ruth Wodak traces how a new “normality to the right” is establishing itself in many European countries, in German

W. Michael Blumenthal Lecture
17 October 2019
Karl M. von der Heyden: From Berlin to New York

In his book Karl M. von der Heyden describes his experiences as a child and youth in war-torn Germany and his journey to the USA, where he rose to the boardrooms of Pepsi and Dreamworks, in German

Reading/Discussion
29 Aug 2019
“To Know One Religion Is to Know None”

W. Michael Blumenthal Fellow Walid Abdelgawad talks about reflections on Islam and Judaism in the writings of German-speaking Jewish orientalists between 1833 and 1955, in German

Lecture/Discussion
28 Aug 2019
Museums, Religion, and the Work of Reconciliation and Remembrance

with the curators Jisgang Nika Collision (Haida Gwaii Museum, Haida Nation & Canada) and Léontine Meijer-van Mensch (Saxonian State Ethnographic Collections)

Lecture/Discussion
9 May 2019
Access Barriers. Critical Perspectives on Racism in Schools and Curatorial Practices

Keynote by Bonita Bennett (District Six Museum, Cape Town) at the conference Access Barriers on museums as places of social change.

Lecture/Discussion
20 Mar 2019
The Laskers from Breslau (Wrocław) – A Family Reunion in Music and Words

Cellist and contemporary witness Anita Lasker Wallfisch shares the stage with three generations of her family for the first time

Reading/Concert
27 Jan 2019
Happy Birthday, Academy Programs!

Welcoming Remarks and Introducing the Academy Programs | Discussion with Performance: Archive of Life. Memory in a Society Shaped by Migration | Panel Discussion: Jewish Fathers – Jewish Children? | Panel Discussion: A Pre-fascist Era? | Reception: 5 Years – 5 Friends – 5 Gifts

Video Recording
2 Dec 2018
Polish Perspectives on '68: March Protests

In Poland, the student protests were co-opted by an antisemitic rampage that resulted in 13,000 Jews being forced to leave the country, in German and Polish

Event
22 Nov 2018
Living with Islamophobia

The international conference Living with Islamophobia considered how cultural and religious affiliations are constructed and invited experts to enter into discussion.

Conference
11 + 12 Oct 2018
Michael Sfard: The Jerusalem Dispute. The Fight for Human Rights in Israeli Courts

Lecture by Michael Sfard, one of Israel’s leading human rights lawyers

Lecture/Discussion
6 Sep 2018
Imported Antisemitism?

Is Antisemitism increasing with the number of refugees from Arab countries? We discuss with political, academic, and practical experts which manifestations of antisemitism among Arab migrants and Muslims in Germany exist, in German

Lecture/Discussion
30 Aug 2018
Seyla Benhabib: The Global Refugee Crisis and the Challenge to Liberal Democracies

Seyla Benhabib (Yale University) discusses the challenges migration poses to liberal democracies

Lecture/Discussion
26 Jun 2018
Stolen Judaica. Provenance Research in Israel and Germany

In this symposium, research that explores the origins of Jewish ceremonial objects exclusively in Israel and Germany, took center stage for the first time, in German and English

Conference
18/19 Jun 2018
Ongoing Struggles. Anti-Discrimination Work during the Rise of the Far Right

Opening Session of the academic conference, including Imani Perry's keynote “What Lies Underneath: Difficult Histories and the Resurgence of The Far Right”

Conference
7 Jun 2018
Lives in Common: Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem

Author Menachem Klein in Conversation with Cilly Kugelmann

Reading/Discussion
8 May 2018
What is the Relationship Between Antisemitism and Islamophobia?

Lectures by David Feldman and Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, in German and English

Lecture/Discussion
20 Mar 2018
The Book of Numbers

Reading and talk with the author Joshua Cohen and literary scholar Jan Wilm, in English and German

Reading/Discussion
12 Feb 2018
New Judaism – Alliances in Postmigrant Society

Discussion on concepts of being Jewish within the third generation of Jews in Germany, in German and English

Lecture/Discussion
16 Nov 2017
Jews in Muslim Majority Countries

International conference for scholars from different continents and academic disciplines, who discuss questions of culture, identity and memory of Jewish life in Arab and Muslim majority countries.

Conference
24 to 27 Oct 2017
Future Memories

Discussion on the Importance of Minority Perspectives for European Societies’ Commemorative Cultures, in German and English

Lecture/Discussion
26 Sep 2017
Luther, Rosenzweig, and the Script

Book presentation and discussion with Micha Brumlik, Walter Homolka, Christoph Kasten, Irmela von der Lühe, and Gesine Palmer , in German

Reading/Discussion
18 Sep 2017
Between the Lines

An evening with Israeli and German poets, in Hebrew and German

Reading/Discussion
9 Sep 2017
Religion. Fashion. Empowerment.

Discussion with Reina Lewis and Meriem Lebdiri, in English and German

Lecture/Discussion
29 Jun 2017
José Casanova: Secularisation or the Return of Religion?

Discussion on the Relationship Between Religion and Secularity in European Societies, in German

Lecture/Discussion
16 Mar 2017
Jews in North Africa During the Second World War

Theme day with lectures by Michel Abitbol, Eric Salerno, Patrick Bernhard, Haim Saadoun, and panel discussion
Language: German, English, and French

Lecture/Discussion
26 Jan 2017
Sites of Memory: Lost and Entangled Narratives

With: Dr. Rosa Fava, Juliane Jurewicz, Prof. Dr. Iman Attia, Olga Gerstenberger, Ozan Keskinkiliç, Anita Awosusi, Ilona Lagrene, Prof. Dr. Michael Rothberg, and Serpil Polat
Language: German and English, no subtitles

Conference
16 Sep 2016
Time of Crisis

With: Dan Diner, Adam Michnik, Dietmar Herz, Étienne François, and Hans Kundnani
Language: German, no subtitles

Discussion
7 Sep 2016
Antisemitism in the Arabic World – Facts and Myths

With: Michael Kiefer and Omar Kamil
Language: German, no subtitles

Lecture/Discussion
26 Apr 2016
Post-migrant Society?!

International conference from 12 to 14 November 2015
Recording of the opening event
Language: German and English, no subtitles

Conference
12–14 Nov 2015
On Life – Working with People Traumatized by the Shoah

With: Giselle Cycowicz, Martin Auerbach and David Becker and Volker Beck
Language: German, no subtitles

Lecture/Discussion
1 Oct 2015
Kill Me a Son!

Recording of the opening event
With: Prof. Dr. Peter Schäfer and Prof. Dr. Angelika Neuwirth
Language: German, no subtitles

Symposium
3–4 Sep 2015
A Shared View of Europe – Jewish and Muslim Experiences as Reflected in Public Controversies

Panel discussion
With: Prof. Nilüfer Göle, Shai Lavi and Gökçe Yurdakul
Language: English, no subtitles

Panel Discussion
19 Jan 2015
Contemporary Jewish life in a global modernity

International conference
Recording of the presentation “Future of European Jewry”
With: Dr. Karen Körber and Dr. Diana Pinto
Language: English, no subtitles

Conference
11–12 Dec 2014
Snip it?!

Presentation of a study followed by a discussion, in German
With: Professor Kerem Öktem, Mounir Azzaoui, Dr. des. Alexander Hasgall, and Dr. des. Hannah C. Tzuberi.

Lecture/Discussion
4 Dec 2014
A Rebbe for the World

On the 20th Yahrzeit of Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Introductions by Cilly Kugelmann and Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal and lecture by Joseph Telushkin, in German and English

Lecture/Discussion
1 Jul 2014
Concepts of Citizenship and Participation in European Comparison

Recording of the keynote by Prof. Dr. Rainer Bauböck and the followed panel discussion
With: Prof. Dr. Rainer Bauböck, Dr. Manuela Bojadžijev, Josip Juratovic and Dr. Monika Lüke
Language: German, no subtitles

Conference
7–8 Apr 2014
Art and Culture in the Terezín Ghetto

In four lectures, the symposium explores the history of Theresienstadt, the “ghetto of exceptions,” from four different angles.
With: Wolfgang Benz, Anna Hájková and Hanno Loewy
Language: German, no subtitles

Conference
2 Mar 2014
The Connected Audience

Conference from 27 February 2014 to 28 February 2014
With: John H. Falk
Language: English, no subtitles

Conference
27 Feb 2014
Is Higher Education a Safeguard Against Racism and Antisemitism?

Presentation of a study followed by panel discussion
With: Wassilis Kassis, Charlotte Schallié, Iman Attia, Stefanie Schüler-Springorum and Andreas Zick
Language: German, no subtitles

Lecture/Discussion
20 Feb 2014
“What do we mean when we say ‘antisemitism’?”

Keynote lecture, opening the conference Antisemitism in Europe Today: the Phenomena, the Conflicts With: Brian Klug, in English

Lecture/Discussion
8 Nov 2013
Circumcision: Identity Politics and / or Health Issue?

With: Sander L. Gilman, in Englisch

Lecture/Discussion
8 May 2013

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Brit Milah/Circumcision
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Inventories: The Legacy of Salman Schocken – Public Tour

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Circumcision: Identity Politics and / or Health Issue?

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Jewish Museum Berlin
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin
T +49 (0)30 259 93 300