by Richard A. Marker
June 1999

It is only a short decade in time but light years in spirit since European Jewry began to adjust to the end of the Cold War. Written off by the Jewish communities of Israel and the United States as the saving remnant of a once proud two thousand year history, European Jewry has emerged with a new pride, sense of purpose, and commitment to its future as much as its past.

These were the underlying sentiments as six hundred European Jewish leaders, and a few others of us from the United States and Israel, joined together on the Riviera recently. The occasion was the annual gathering and the first General Assembly of the European Council of Jewish Communities-representing European Jewry from the furthest corners of the north to the south, east to west. This group of lay and professional leaders gathered to chart a future, a distinct European future, for European Jewry which only recently perceived itself sitting on "packed bags." Today, the bags are unpacked. New schools, synagogues, institutions, and youth programs are all emerging to respond to the growing clamor for Jewish life. As one who has attended the last four annual gatherings, I can attest that it reflects an unimagined rebirth of once proud and diverse Jewish communities. From the vantage of the sympathetic outsider, it is nothing less then extraordinary to see the explosion of interest and commitment on the European continent. One is tempted to see it as a veritable t'hiyat hametim-the bringing of the dead back to life.

The path forward is by no means an easy one. It remains to be seen if this burgeoning interest leads to a true renaissance of Jewish education, culture, and religious creativity. The challenge is daunting: indigenous leadership, coming of age today, must learn the experience of functioning in a post anti-Semitic environment; cultural diversity which fosters the dynamic fabric of European Jewish life may itself prove to be a stumbling block to unified action and collaboration. The dearth of professionals who have been trained in the best current methodologies of community organizing and education and who understand the European scene looms large. The relationship to the two larger Jewish communities, North America and Israel, wavers between envy and resentment and gets in the way of learning from the strengths and mistakes of both. The sense of both celebration and anxiety about this new European Jewish reality is palpable.

The issues are not abstractions. The internal dissension regarding who speaks for European Jews in matters of restitution or domestic policies is very much on the surface. The inevitable, though unsettling for many in Europe, spectre of pluralism plays out against a very different cultural and political backdrop to that which we know in North America.

In a continent with such a rich and glorious and tragic history, what should children and newly identified adults be taught in the new Jewish schools and educational centers?

How should communities embrace students and young adults? At a time when anti-Israel sentiment and Jewish isolation were the norm, students were viewed as the footsoldiers in the battle against anti-Israel political action. The newer realities call for a new paradigm. Students and young adults are the next generation and those most vitally in need of communal investment.

And speaking of investment, what communal structures should emerge in this new era? For many years, several governments have supported Jewish [and other religions'] institutions. What should be their role or that of the EU in supporting Jewish life in the future? Should American style federations be developed? And if not, what other model might work? And who should decide all of this?

By most estimates, there are upward of three million Jews living in Europe, considered by some to be a conservative estimate. The Jewish community of Germany has tripled over the last ten years. Austria has experienced a similar increase. In Poland and Russia and other countries communal life has begun to flourish. The leaders who gathered on the sun-drenched Riviera at the end of May perceive that they are on the cusp of a glorious future. They believe that European Jewry will be the third major force in Jewish life during the 21st century. We in North America and our cousins in Europe are both heirs to the once grand and too often tragic communities of Europe. As they begin to envision and create their own future, we in North America owe them nothing less than to take them seriously-as partners and as cousins. And should their dreams of a revitalized Jewish community in and of Europe be even partially fulfilled, we should celebrate with them on the occasion of their remarkable rebirth.

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