25 May 2007
Protestant and Jewish leaders have appealed to a group of 15 parishioners to end their sit-in at a church in Bielefeld, western Germany, that is scheduled to be converted into a synagogue. Local church authorities have approved the sale of the Paul Gerhardt Church to the Jewish community in the city of Bielefeld, but the protesters have objected to the closure of their church. The Lutheran church of Westphalia has urged them to give way. "In Bielefeld, there is the historical chance of a Lutheran church becoming a synagogue, a Jewish house of God," the church said in statement. "The city faces the challenge either of seizing the chance or living in future with the taint of having squandered this possibility."
Rabbi Henry Brandt said the protesters were trying to prevent "a project that would send an outstanding signal - Jews once again have a place in German society." He noted that the city's original synagogue was destroyed during the Nazis' 'Kristallnacht' pogrom in 1938. The protesters insisted that their sit-in was aimed at preserving their church and not at blocking a synagogue. "This is a protest against the arbitrary closing of the church at this point in time, because there was a promise that it would stay open as long as possible," said Hermann Geller, one of the protesters. The sale of the church, agreed between Protestant and Jewish authorities, stemmed from the merger of two neighboring parishes.
