A visible sign of Jewish life, a place of tolerance: after four years of construction, the largest Jewish institution for education, culture and sport since the Shoah, the Pears Jewish Campus, will open in Berlin on Sunday. On 8,000 square meters there is a day-care center, elementary school and high school, art studios and music studios, a cinema, a sports and event hall, and a kosher deli.
“We build to stay,” said the chairman of the Jewish Campus Foundation, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, on Friday. “Despite the difficulties, there is an absolutely vibrant future here.” He called the new campus “the heart for the future of Jewish life and positive coexistence”. The educational institutions and event rooms are open to people of all faiths, anyone can visit the campus – despite the security precautions required by all Jewish institutions.
Building should remind of newborn baby
The campus was built for 40 million euros in a residential area in Berlin-Wilmersdorf: a curved building that, in Teichtal’s words, is reminiscent of a newborn baby, the facade is blue as a reflection of the sky, with seven floors for the seven days of the week – ” seven floors of the future”, as Teichtal put it.
The “Pears Jewish Campus” is named after the main sponsor, the British Pears Foundation. But the federal government, the state of Berlin and others are also donors. The sponsor is a foundation. The board of trustees includes the President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, the actress Iris Berben and the former “Bild” editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann.
There was still a lot of work going on at the construction site on Friday. The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Izchak Josef, President of the Central Council Schuster, and Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner are expected to attend the opening on Sunday. “This campus is a testament to the active Jewish community in Berlin and its visibility in our city,” explained Wegner in advance.
