Abraham Geiger College is a rabbinic seminary at the University of Potsdam in Potsdam, Germany, founded in 1999 and named after Abraham Geiger, a rabbi and scholar.
Abraham Geiger College was founded 1999 as the only seminary in Germany since the Holocaust, when the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin was shut down by the Gestapo. The college is named after Abraham Geiger (1810–1874), a German Reform-oriented rabbi and scholar, and is managed by the Rabbis Walter Jacob and Walter Homolka. In 2009, the college ordained Juval Porat as a cantor; he is the first person to be trained as a cantor in Germany since the Holocaust.[1] [2]
In November 2010, the college ordained Alina Treiger, who is the first female rabbi to be ordained in Germany since World War II.[3] [4] [5] [6] Her ordination was held at Berlin's Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue, and attended by Christian Wulff, then president of Germany, and Jewish leaders from around the world.[4] [7] In 2011, the college ordained Antje Deusel, who is the first German-born woman to be ordained as a rabbi in Germany since the Nazi era.[8]
In October 2022, the abuse of power by Rabbi Homolka was confirmed by an independent commission. Sexual harassment could "not be demonstrably confirmed". However, there had been "encounters in the pool and sauna". Specifically, an "exploitation of institutional power and dependency relationships" was confirmed. Decisions had been made "which had a very negative influence on the further life and career of the persons concerned and for which responsibility was attributed to Mr. Homolka personally due to the abundance of his direct and indirect possibilities of influence". Homolka is said to have been the cause of a "climate of fear". Employees were put under pressure to provide private services for their superiors even on weekends, e.g. to prepare their tax returns. Homolka was placed on leave of absence. His spouse has not been employed since February 2022.[9]
In 2001, the College joined the World Union for Progressive Judaism and in 2005, the examinees received accreditation towards the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The first generation of ordained rabbis – Daniel Alter, Tomáš Kučera and Malcolm Mattitiani – left the College in 2006. Daniel Alter is caring for the Jewish community in Oldenburg, and Tomáš Kučera leads Beth Shalom, a Reform Jewish community in Munich. Malcolm Mattitiani returned to South Africa to lead the Temple of Israel Congregation in Kapstadt.[10]
The five-year long studies take place in conjunction with the Kollegium Jüdische Studien, and upon completion, the examinees receive the title of Magister in Jüdischen Studien. The College is part of Universität Potsdam, funded by the German government, the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the state of Brandenburg and the Potsdam Leo Baeck Foundation. The founding principal of the College is Rabbi Professor Dres. Allen Podet, who came from State University College at Buffalo to take the post and served from 2001 to 2002.
The Abraham Geiger College dedicates a biannual prize for Verdienste um das Judentum in seiner Vielfalt or, service to Jewish cultural diversity. Laureates:
Famous and outstanding representatives of Jewish studies are invited as guest lecturers.
Rabbi Dr Dalia Marx, Rabbi Dr Yehoyada Amir, Rabbi Dr Samuel K. Joseph and Rabbi Dr Reuven Firestone are members of the HUC-JIR faculty. They visit Berlin and teach at the College for four weeks. Rabbis Marx and Joseph have participated twice in this program.