Cultural Program in December 2014
Press Invitation
Press Release, Fri 21 Nov 2014
We herewith invite you to the cultural program at the Jewish Museum Berlin for December 2014.
Showcase Exhibition
4 December 2014 to 31 May 2015
Pictures Galore and Collecting Mania – Advertising in Miniature
The Jewish Museum Berlin continues its series of exhibitions on consumer and economic history with this exhibition about advertising. The starting point is a comprehensive collection of advertising stamps – stamp-sized images used mainly for corporate and product advertising that were donated to the museum by a private collector. Before the First World War, millions of these stamps were in circulation, sparking a veritable "collecting mania".
Location: Libeskind Building, basement, Rafael Roth Learning Center
Admission: with the museum ticket (8 €, reduced rate 3 euros)
- Kontakt
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Press office
T +49 (0)30 259 93 419
presse@jmberlin.de - Address
Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin
Special Exhibition and Accompanying Program
24 October 2014 to 1 March 2015
Snip it! Stances on Ritual Circumcision
"Snip It!" takes a careful look at the diversity of stances on the ritual circumcision of boys. Incisive in every sense of the term, the exhibition explores ritual circumcision as such, but also reflects a sense among many Jews and Muslims that they and their religious traditions are not welcome in Germany.
Starting from the Jewish concept of the Abrahamic covenant, which is sealed with a bodily sign, "Snip it!" illuminates circumcision from the perspective of the three monotheistic religions: from its roots in the ancient Orient, via the circumcision of Christ, right up to elements of popular culture with US television series.
The Jewish Museum Berlin’s exhibition was prompted by a fierce controversy that arose in May 2012, when a regional court in Cologne declared the ritual circumcision of boys to be a "bodily injury." In the discussions that ensued, labeled the "circumcision debate," the right to the free practice of religion was confronted with the child’s right to physical integrity.
The exhibition does not enter into this debate, nor does it pursue it further. Instead, more than sixty objects and artworks from international collections provide insights into the context of the ritual. The exhibition does not shy away from documenting both anti-Semitic and islamophobic stances. It confronts visitors with the Western, "enlightened" view of Europeans onto societies that practice circumcision.
Location: Old Building, first level
Admission: with the museum ticket (8 €, reduced rate 3 euros)
Public Tours: Sundays, 2 pm (3 € plus museum ticket)
4 December
Snip it?!
Presentation of a study on the circumcision debate followed by a discussion as part of the Judeo-Islamic Forum
The verdict of the Cologne Administrative Court classifying the ritual circumcision of boys as bodily harm sparked a controversial debate in the summer of 2012. How Jews and Muslims experienced this discussion is investigated in the study "Signals from the majority" conducted by the European Studies Centre at Oxford University. Based on interviews with Jews and Muslims, the impact of the debate on identity, sense of belonging, and integration in Germany are illuminated. Prof. Dr. Kerem Öktem (University Graz) presents the results and concludes with a discussion with Munir Azzaoui (Stiftung Mercator), Alexander Hasgall (University Genf) und Shlomit Tulgan (Jewish Museum Berlin).
Moderated by Dr. Yasemin Shooman, Head of Academy Programs of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Location: Academy Hall
Time: 7 pm
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or reservierung@jmberlin.de
8 December
Monday Movies
„Partly Private“
France/Canada 2009, directed by Danae Elon, 82 min., English version
"Partly Private" is a witty take on male circumcision and how we in the western world generally feel about it. Both comic and informative, the film questions how an ancient rite became normal medical practice in North America and other parts of the world. The film goes beyond the questions of right or wrong and takes us into a contemporary universe of purported paganism, tribal and family heritage. From NY to Jerusalem to Italy to Turkey, we follow the filmmaker’s personal journey where she is forced to ask: to circumcise or not to circumcise.
Location: Old Building, ground level, Auditorium
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or reservierung@jmberlin.de
Academy Programs
11/12 December
Contemporary Jewish life in a global modernity: Comparative European perspectives on a changing diaspora
International Conference (in English)
The fall of the Iron Curtain has opened possibilities for a Jewish revival across Europe. In the past twenty-five years, parallel trends of secularization, grass roots movements, religious pluralization and new discourses on the definition of Jewish identities have emerged. The conference brings together international scholars from Europe, Israel and the US to explore the different forms of Jewish life in contemporary Europe and the challenges and possibilities these present for the future.
In cooperation with Stiftung „Erinnerung, Verantwortung, Zukunft“ (EVZ) and Zentrum Jüdische Studien Berlin-Brandenburg (ZJS).
Location: Old Building, Second Level, Great Hall
Time: 11 December: 2 to 6.30 pm; 12 December: 9.30 am to 1.30 pm
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488
11 December
The Future of European Jewry
Public Lecture (in English)
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marks the start of a revitalization of Jewish life in Europe. Historian Diana Pinto (PhD, Paris) is currently one of the most important advocates of a strong European Jewish identity. Twenty-five years after this iconic event, she reflects on progress and setbacks and what these developments could mean for European Jews in the future. Open to the public, this evening lecture is part of the conference „Contemporary Jewish life in a global modernity.“ Isolde Charim (PhD, Vienna) will be present to comment on the talk.
Location: Glass Courtyard, ground level
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or www.jmberlin.de/contemporary-jewish-life
Reading
10 December
Hans Biereigel: In search of the truth (Auf der Suche nach der Wahrheit)
Reading with the author (in German)
In his new book, the Oranienburger historian Hans Biereigel traces the 300-year history of the Oranienburger Jews between 1680 and 1945. He tells the story of Bernhard Weiss, who practiced as doctor to the poor, and of Nachmann Oppenheim, the first honorary Jewish citizen. Although the Jews in Oranienburg made up just a very small proportion of the total population, their contribution to the economic and cultural life of the city was considerable – the entrepren€ Heinrich Byk brought the first pharmaceutical company to Oranienburg in 1885 and Louis Blumenthal opened the first banking business in 1852.
Location: Old Building, ground level, Auditorium
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or reservierung@jmberlin.de
Hanukkah (16 to 23 December)
Hanukkah celebration of the eight-day Festival of Lights, starts each year on 25th Kislev (November/December). When dusk falls, the Hanukkah candles are lit in homes and synagogues.
The Jewish Museum Berlin is celebrating Hanukkah with a family festival tour and the reading "Ein Pferd zu Chanukka" (A horse for Hanukkah).
The Hanukkah candles will be lit in the Glass Courtyard at 4 pm from 16 to 23 December, at 3.30 pm on 19 December due to the Shabbat, and at 5 pm on 20 December.
