Jewish religious education in Saxony-Anhalt: Missing participants and challenges

Jewish religious education in Saxony-Anhalt: Missing participants and challenges

Halle, Deutschland - In Saxony-Anhalt, the Jewish religious education has launched a model project, which has so far only been of little interest. Currently, only four students in the primary school area and three students take part in high schools. The lessons are offered in a primary school and a high school in Halle. This project is part of the state program «Jewish life strengthen. Saxony-Anhalt against anti-Semitism »and is organized by the State Association of Jewish communities in Saxony-Anhalt. As FAZ , the low number of participants results from several factors. Jewish life in Saxony-Anhalt is less pronounced than in larger cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt or Leipzig. There are also organizational hurdles and a lack of qualified teachers. An increase in anti -Semitic incidents also leads to security concerns among the parents.

In order to counteract the low interest, the state association plans a pilot project for online lessons to address students from smaller cities and rural regions. The lessons have been tested as a model project since 2021, originally with 14 children who took part in class once a week for 60 minutes. The long -term plan provides for a transition to regular lessons with their own curricula.

specialist day for anti -Semitism prevention

Another step to combat anti-Semitic attitudes takes place through the specialist day "Jewish life in Saxony-Anhalt and anti-Semitism prevention in everyday school life", which takes place on November 28, 2023 in the Lisa in Halle (Saale). Over 80 teachers from many school types will take part in this event, which should offer opportunities for prevention in the school context. How LISA Saxony-Anhalt explained, the program includes lectures, workshops and a market of possibilities. The topics range from practical concepts against anti -Semitism to the appropriate thematization of the current situation in Israel.

national projects for sensitization

In addition to local initiatives, the Malmad project, developed by the service center for anti -discrimination work by the State of North Rhine -Westphalia, is also presented. It aims to promote an anti -Semitism -critical and non -discriminatory way of dealing with schools. As School Ministry of NRW , Malmad offers various materials and methods for multipliers to improve educational work on anti-Semitism and Israel.

The material package is designed to cover the needs of all ages and school forms. In addition, a need for new materials is pointed out in order to convey a differentiated image of Judaism. The project also provides method construction boxes that are suitable for different age groups and include interactive approaches such as quizzes and creative tasks.