Stellungnahme von ELES (aktualisiert am 19.05.22)
STATEMENT FROM ELES (UPDATED 19 May 2022)
The newspaper DIE WELT raised serious allegations against Rabbi Walter Homolka in a piece published on Friday (6 May 2022). On Friday afternoon, Rabbi Homolka released a statement announcing his intention to suspend his activities within the Jewish community. This decision also applies to his posts at the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk e.V. The deputy chairs, Katarina Seidler Esq. and Benno Bleiberg Esq. and Notary (ret.) will provisionally take on the leadership of ELES e.V. Katarina Seidler will be the acting external representative of ELES e.V.
The Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk is a place in which harassment, discrimination, abuse of power, and sexualized violence are not tolerated, but firmly condemned. At the same time, ELES is aware that such statements do not suffice on their own. For this reason, ELES has had codes of communications and behaviour in place for years that are intended to assist its current and former scholarship holders both in communicating their experiences or critique to the Studienwerk and in receiving support. These structures are continually reviewed and updated. Current and former scholarship holders who have experienced things within the context of ELES that transgress the bounds of professionalism can directly contact the ELES team or the ombudsperson responsible. Current and former scholarship holders can find these opportunities to contact ELES or the ombudsperson within the ELES intranet (ELES/Net). ELES will be reviewing and, when necessary, revising its safeguarding structures in the coming weeks.
“For myself and the entire ELES team, I can say that it is of the utmost importance that ELES is a safe space for its scholarship holders. We are conscious of our responsibility to prevent and to punish abuses of power and sexualized violence, and take this responsibility very seriously. We have been in close communication about the current developments with current and former scholarship holders, advisory board chairs, counsellors, members of the association, and ELES staff. We request all current and former scholarship holders who experienced inappropriate behaviour within the ELES context to get in touch,” said Jo Frank, managing director of ELES.
“It is with surprise, dismay, and exasperation that we have taken note of the article in DIE WELT. The allegations against Rabbi Walter Homolka require serious examination. The Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk takes the fight against sexualized violence and abuses of power in academic and artistic organisations extraordinarily seriously. As members of the advisory board, we are expressly and lastingly committed to the precept that such incidents must be taken seriously. They must be promptly investigated and structures must be in place to combat them” Dr. Michal Or-Guil, Prof. Dr. Paula-Irene Villa Baslavsky, and Prof. Dr. Federek Musall, chairs of the ELES Advisory Board, said in a joint statement.
Update (10.05.2022)
Since the allegations came to light, multiple institutions including the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk have been in intensive discussion with the Central Council of Jews in Germany about how cases of sexual harassment and abuses of power can be investigated and prevented across institutions. In coordination and with the express support of these institutions, the Central Council will soon commission a law firm to conduct a comprehensive examination of the allegations.
Update (19.5.2022)
The Cologne-based law firm Wollschläger will examine the allegations of sexual harassment and abuses of power at the Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam on behalf of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. In addition, the legal examiners will also conduct their work within the following institutions: the Leo Baeck Foundation, the Zacharias Frankel College, the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk, the Union Progressiver Juden, and the Allgemeine Rabbinerkonferenz. The institutions named here have expressly consented to the review.
The law firm will question both the leadership and staff of the institutions as well as the potential victims or others affected. The anonymity of the statements will be preserved when that has been agreed to in the discussion. Impacted parties or witnesses can directly contact the law firm:
Tel.: 0152 / 59 63 90 83 (weekdays from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.)
E-mail: untersuchung@gw-strafrecht.de
