Cultural Program in January 2015
Press Invitation
Press Release, Thu 18 Dec 2014
We herewith invite you to the cultural program at the Jewish Museum Berlin in January 2015.
Special Exhibition "Snip it!" 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)
8 January
Christmas + 8: "Feast of the Circumcision"
Choir concert and slide presentation on the circumcision of Jesus in Christian iconography
On New Year’s Day – eight days after 24 December – the circumcision of Christ was celebrated for centuries. Only in 1969 as part of the reform of the Roman Catholic Church’s liturgical year did a Marian feast day take its place. Theologically, it was interpreted as part of the history of salvation and gave rise in Christian art to masterful depictions of the event. Alongside works where the divine nature of the Jesus child outshines the events are images where circumcision is clearly presented as the first suffering and therefore as part of the Passion.
Dr. Thomas Lentes, Westphalian Wilhelm University Münster, guides us through the imagery of the circumcision of Jesus. The choir Studiosi Cantandi – with the support of Tonkollektiv HTW and the "Junge Philharmonie Kreuzberg" – presents the cantata "Feast of the Circumcision" by J. S. Bach.
Location: Old Building, ground level, Glass Courtyard
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission: 8 €, reduced rate 5 euros
26 January
Monday Movies
"The Quest for the Missing Piece"
Germany 2007, directed by Oded Lotan, 52 min.
German with English subtitles
On a trip through Israel and Germany, the filmmaker Oded Lotan explores in depth the Jewish tradition of circumcision. In conversations with rabbis, psychologists, parents of circumcised boys, and opponents of circumcision, he tries to understand the religious meaning of this surgical procedure.
Location: Old Building, ground levek, Auditorium
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or reservierung@jmberlin.de
- 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
Showcase Exhibition "Pictures Galore and Collecting Mania – Advertising in Miniature"
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".
Further Information: here
Location: Libeskind-Bau UG, Rafael Roth Learning Center
Admission: with the museum ticket (8 €, reduced rate 3 euros)
Special Exhibition "Snip it!" and Accompanying Program
Academy Programs
19 January
A Shared Perspective for Europe – Jewish and Muslim Experiences as Reflected in Public Controversies
Talk and panel discussion
This event raises the question of whether the debate over the role of Islam in Europe can be held without reference to Judaism. Controversies surrounding religious rites such as male circumcision and the ritual slaughter of animals point to similarities in the perception and position in society of Jews and Muslims. These parallels serve as a starting point for a discussion of the existing religious and ethnic divisions in Europe. The introductory lecture by the renowned sociologist Prof. Nilüfer Göle will be followed by a panel discussion with international participants.
An event in cooperation with the Istanbul Policy Center - Sabanci University - Mercator Foundation Initiative and the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute as part of the Mercator IPC Fellowships
Location: Academy Hall
Time: 7 pm
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or reservierung@jmberlin.de
27 January
The Reorientation of "Education after Auschwitz" in German Immigration Society
Book presentation and panel discussion
Since the late 1990s, there has been debate over whether learning about Nazism and the Holocaust for pupils with an immigrant background should be designed differently. Against the backdrop of migration pedagogy and criticism of racism, the author Rosa Fava considers how knowledge of "the others" and "the German we" shape the discussion. How does the self-understanding of a German "coming-to-terms community" stand in the face of seemingly indifferent children with a migrant background?
Dr. Angela Kühner (Frankfurt University), Selman Erkovan (trainee teacher and history educationalist), and Marco Kühnert (guide at the Concentration Camp Memorial Neuengamme/Hamburg) discuss the results of the book with the author.
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
Readings
21 January
The Book of Job. Aesthetics, Ethics, Hermeneutics
Book presentation in German and English
The biblical book of Job is a central reference point for dealing with adversity and personal disasters, for faith and apostasy. Why does the book play such a prominent role in the project of modernity – from the Enlightenment to the present day – in literature, art, and theater?
The two editors of the first volume of the new series "Perspectives on Jewish Texts and Contexts" Leora Batnitzky (Princeton) and Ilana Pardes (Jerusalem) will discuss these questions with Vivian Liska (Antwerp).
A cooperation with De Gruyter Publishers and the Institute of Jewish Studies, Antwerp.
Moderated by Peter Schäfer, Director of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Location: Old Building, second level, Great Hall
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission: free
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or reservierung@jmberlin.de
22 January
We Berliners! Celebrities on Celebrities
"I feel great / I love Berlin!" (Ideal) – the journalist Irene Bazinger and the lawyer Peter Raue asked famous local patriots to write about their favorite Berliners. What emerged were surprising and original elected affinities, a variety of special Berlin personalities from politics, science, and culture. On this evening, they let us share the admiration, the wonder, and the (secret) love – when Irene Bazinger talks about Knut the polar bear, Klaus Hoffmann about Ulrich Plenzdorf, Andreas Nachama about Estrongo Nachama, Hans Neuenfels about Heinrich von Kleist, Maria Ossowski about Kurt Tucholsky, Peter Raue about James Simon, and Wolfgang Thierse about Willy Brandt.
Location: Old Building, second level, Great Hall
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission: 8 €, reduced rate 5 euros
Bookings are requested on tel. +49(0)30 25993 488 or reservierung@jmberlin.de
