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VJSNord

VJSNord is a group of Jewish students and young Jewish adults aged 18 to 35 in the federal states of Hamburg, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.

VJSNord organizes Shabbatot, seminars and workshops, parties, as well as visits to cultural sites and panel discussions.

History

After the youth congress in Frankfurt in 2017, the founding board of the VJSNord decided to found a local representation for Jewish students in the federal states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Hamburg and Bremen.

Their profile should be based on the model of the Jewish Student Union of Germany (JSUD) and orientate itself on a democratic, tolerant and cosmopolitan world view. It is an affair of the heart for them to be a central and visible part of the public discourse.

With numerous regional and national events, they want to ensure that students in northern Germany can also connect to the Jewish infrastructure and exchange ideas with other like-minded people.

With regular Shabbatot, parties and lectures by interesting speakers, VJSNord want to promote cultural exchange and expand the network for young Jewish people in northern Germany.

Aims

  • Networking of Jewish students and young Jewish adults in Northern Germany
  • Participation in public discourse and raising awareness of Jewish concerns
  • Inter-religious and intercultural cooperation

Activities

Organization of Shabbatot, seminars and workshops, parties, as well as visits to cultural sites and panel discussions. Examples of some activities :

  • Jewish Campus Week 2021 : In Bremen, there was an event on Jewish revenge with Max Czollek, a film evening and an event with Monty Ott. Göttingen came up with a three-day information stand with various quizzes, snacks, bags and kosher beer. In addition, there was an official commemoration of the Reichsprogromnacht. In Hamburg, the VJSNord was able to offer three events. A movie night and a Q&A on Jewish life in Germany. At the end there was even a prominent visit by the Hamburg antisemitism commissioner Stefan Hensel. The topic “How antisemitism is getting louder in Germany” was discussed with him.
  • Interview with Ariel Salomon Gutman : On November 23, 2021, an interview with the Vice President Ariel-Salomon Gutman was published in the Kieler Nachrichten. The main topic was Jewish life in Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein. Among other things, Ariel spoke about his involvement in Schleswig-Holstein as part of his board activities and about the first Jewish university group in Schleswig-Holstein. In addition to Ariel, two other protagonists were included in the article.
  • Last minute prosecution of violent Nazi crimes : In July 2020, 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, 93-year-old Bruno Dey was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence by the Hamburg Regional Court for being an accessory to murder in 5,230 cases. D., 17 years old at the time of the crime, was an SS guard in the Stutthof concentration camp. The process gives rise to inquiry and discussion. Is it an “operation last chance” that is only now possible or is it proof of missed opportunities? This topic was discussed with Dr. Klaus-Detlev Godau-Schüttke, retired judge at the Itzehoe district court, and Lars Mahnke, senior public prosecutor at the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office, prosecutor in the Stutthof trial. It was moderated by Julia Römer, judge at the district court of Pinneberg. This event took place in cooperation with the German-Israeli Lawyers’ Association and the Studium Generale of the Bucerius Law School. 
  • Exhibition “Unworthy of a German university degree” in Göttingen : Imagine if your scientific work and your titles were revoked because of your religion, your political views or your sexual orientation! Inconceivable today, but that is exactly what was done to at least 72 people between 1935 and 1945, including at the Georgia Augusta. In addition to the withdrawal of doctoral degrees, Jewish employees of the university were dismissed and from 1936 were no longer admitted to doctoral procedures. This was justified by means of various laws, but the university itself promoted the inhuman Nazi ideology to a considerable extent. The processing continues to this day and is also the subject of several research projects. The VJSNord commemorated with a group of students from different religions and fields of study in view of the commemoration of the Reichsprogromnacht 1938. An exhibition was designed, and was shown on November 8th, 2019 in the canteen foyer of the University of Göttingen.
  • Workshop with the Green Youth Schleswig-Holstein : On 02/22 Nui from the local group in Göttingen and the board member Avi from Hamburg were invited to the state meeting of the Schleswig-Holstein Green Youth in Pinneberg to conduct a workshop on young Jewish life in Germany. Nui gave a short presentation on Jewish history, religion and Jewish positions, especially in relation to left-wing discourses. In addition, there was also a large range of media on a variety of topics on a book table, from Zionism and anti-Zionism, Jewish history, religious handbooks on festivals and rites, cross-generational trauma, feminism, antisemitism, Jewish and queer to Jewish art. The second part was about Jewish institutions, educational establishments and leisure activities; Excerpts from Max Czollek’s “Disintegrate yourself!” then closed the gap to concrete political options for action, and these were lively discussed. The discussions provided a diverse and differentiated picture of opinion not only from the participants, but also from the Jewish side: Avi and Nui often did not agree on all points, and thus perfectly illustrated Jewish pluralism.
  • Call for voting Federal election 2017