Tel Aviv University and Goethe University want to work
together even more closely in the future. A letter of intent was signed this
morning in the framework of a high-profile Zoom conference, with the aim of
establishing a joint research centre for religious studies and inter-religious
dynamics.
FRANKFURT. A
strategic partnership has already existed between the two universities since
1984, and the two cities have even been twinned since 1980. Tel Aviv University
and Goethe University now want to intensify relations even further – and
establish the first German-Israeli research institute. Scholars from both
universities, above all in the fields of history and religious studies, have worked
together regularly for many years – especially the Martin Buber Professorship
at the Faculty of Protestant Theology maintains close ties with Israel. There
is extensive networking between the newly founded Buber-Rosenzweig Institute
for Modern and Contemporary Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History at Goethe
University and the Centre for Religious and Inter-Religious Studies at Tel Aviv
University in the framework of joint workshops and conferences.
The new centre will concentrate on
interdisciplinary research in religious and inter-religious studies, with a
focus on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Apart from Protestant and Catholic
theology, religious studies, Jewish studies and Islamic studies, other disciplines
will be involved, including history, philosophy, philosophy of science and political
science. Research topics are conceivable in the following areas: multicultural
societies, religious conflicts, migration, fundamentalism and inter-religious
dialogue. For the next 42 months, Goethe University will finance the new centre
with € 50,000 per year and Tel Aviv University
with an annual sum of €
20,000, especially for summer schools.
A joint directorate will be in charge of the
new centre, which will bring together both senior scholars as well as early
career researchers. There are also plans for joint courses from the 2022 summer
semester onwards and the creation of a joint English-taught master's degree
programme. Professor Christian Wiese, holder of the Martin Buber Professorship
at Goethe University, Director of the Buber-Rosenzweig Institute and the
research centre's initiator, sees great potential in the partnership: “In the
framework of German-Israeli academic relations and the close connection between
the cities of Frankfurt and Tel Aviv, we're creating something very special
here – an international research hub in the field of interdisciplinary
religious studies that looks at topics from a historical perspective as well as
in the context of present times that challenge both societies, the German and
the Israeli, each in different ways."
The contract was signed today in Tel Aviv
in the presence of Dr Susanne Wasum-Rainer, German Ambassador to Israel. Due to
the pandemic, the participants in Frankfurt joined the ceremony via Zoom. Professor
Ariel Porat, President of Tel Aviv University, headed the meeting on the
Israeli side.
Professor Enrico Schleiff, President of Goethe University
“What we are
agreeing upon today is, as far as I am aware, unprecedented – at least in the humanities
in Germany. It is not merely a formal cooperation between a German and an
Israeli university, but rather the development of a highly visible, joint
institutionalized international research centre.
The centre is cross-departmental on both sides and
working in an area of study that is most relevant to the German and the Israeli
society alike: the history of and the present challenges in religious
diversity, difference and conflict in pluralistic societies. It will focus on
questions regarding inter-religious dialogue, religious fundamentalism and
conflict, but also on the rich cultural heritage and the potential inherent in
religious traditions. This centre is the start
of an even closer cooperation."
Dr Susanne Wasum-Rainer, German Ambassador to Israel
“Academic exchange and cooperation are not
only a constitutive pillar of German-Israeli relations. They are also a
contribution to strengthening research and scientific progress as a global
endeavour, in science as well as in the humanities. By declaring their will to
establish a joint Centre for the Study of Religious and Inter-religious
Dynamics, Goethe University and Tel Aviv University are addressing one of the
urgent questions of our time, the role of religious communities in a changing
and conflictual world."
Professor Menachem Fisch, initiator at Tel Aviv University
“I'm delighted to be involved in the
setting up of such a unique, first-of-its-kind centre for the study of the
monotheistic faiths and their reciprocal development. It is a worthy initiative
and another building block in academic collaboration between the two
countries."
Uwe Becker, President of the German Friends
Association of Tel Aviv University
“This MOU marks a new milestone in the
special relationship between the two universities and is also another bridge of
understanding between Frankfurt and Tel Aviv. The new centre will for sure
contribute to a better inter-religious dialogue from different angles and
perspectives. I am proud that with the launch of the new German Friendship Fund
we will also help students to participate in this German-Israeli experience and
benefit from the activities of the German Friends Association of Tel Aviv
University."
Professor Milette Shamir, TAU Vice President (International)
“Tel Aviv University has a wide collaborative
network with German universities, more than with any other country in Europe.
This collaboration includes hundreds of joint research projects as well as
hundreds of German students who come to our campus each year. The joint centre
expands this collaboration in an important new direction and reinforces our
existing partnership with Goethe University, one of the leading universities in
Germany. We hope that in the near future GU and TAU will expand collaboration
to several other areas of common strength."
An
image for download: https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/110103728
Caption:
Goethe University and Tel Aviv University
want to establish a joint research centre for religious studies and
inter-religious dialogue. The letter of intent was signed at a large gathering,
with GU president Professor Schleiff (left) and Professor Wiese participating
via video link. (Photo: Uwe Dettmar)
Further
information
Professor Christian Wiese
Buber-Rosenzweig Institute for Modern and
Contemporary Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History
Faculty of Protestant Theology
Goethe University
Tel.: +49(0)69 798-33313
Email c.wiese@em.uni-frankfurt.de
