‘Too many Germans convert to Judaism’: cantor dismissed over controversy

Fallout over conversion; Munich massacre anniversary; making Holocaust trips meaningful.

Berlin cantor Avitall Gerstetter was dismissed from her job at Oranienburgerstrasse Synagogue after writing a column criticising the number of Germans converting to Judaism.

In the column, titled “Why the increasing number of converts is a problem for Judaism,” Gerstetter charged that too many people in Germany convert for the wrong reasons — such as to atone for their family’s Nazi past or to identify with the victims rather than perpetrators — and she criticised the fact that converts fill numerous Jewish leadership roles in Germany.

German regret was also expressed this week in Monday's ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Germany has agreed to reopen the investigation, in a joint probe with Israel, and the two nations have settled on compensation for the relatives of the victims.

At the ceremony, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier admitted his country avoided its responsibility for 1972 massacre for far too long.

Haaretz commentator Ofer Aderet wrote that Steinmeier’s words were empty cliches, the same words Germans have used in regard to the Holocaust.

“Germany's president spoke of 'responsibility' and even 'shame,' but Germany should have come to Monday's ceremony with documents, testimonies and names of those responsible, not an apology and still-open questions 

Aderet wrote the compensation negotiations, which were only resolved when families threatened not to participate in the ceremony, are another example of a German failure.

“The amateurish behaviour surrounding the amount of compensation to be given to the families of the victims did not exactly contribute to creating the impression that anyone in Germany particularly cares about the nuisance known as the "50th anniversary of the Munich massacre."