Scandal at Germany’s Leading Jewish College: A “Toxic Environment” and Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
Under (Divine) Observation
In general, the internal review of the accusations raises doubts about just how seriously the alleged misconduct was taken. Minutes of internal meetings at the institute reveal that university leadership played down the claims and sought to evade responsibility. Samuel Biton, so went the argument, had turned to Abraham Geiger College with his complaints, and not to the University of Potsdam.
“A well-organized cover-up,” says Jonathan Schorsch, a professor at the School of Jewish Theology, in describing the college’s approach to the Biton case. Schorsch says he condemned numerous cases of misconduct, particularly after learning of the Eckert case in late 2021. But the director accused Schorsch of inflicting enormous harm to the school and other institutions with his publicized accusations. Furthermore, the director of the school insisted, the case had been addressed by the college “according to the relevant regulations” and declared to be without merit by the prosecutor’s office. According to meeting minutes, Walter Homolka reacted in a similar vein. Another professor urged that an amicable agreement be reached, “also because of the school’s religious mission, since we are under special (divine) observation.”
In 2020, Abraham Geiger College established a commission to look into the Biton case. Homolka himself apparently declared a conflict of interest in the proceedings against his husband, but members of the commission were professionally dependent on Homolka. Biton rejected an arbitration offer: He wanted consequences, not counseling. Bomhoff ultimately received a warning, and he lost his lecturing position, but he was allowed to remain press spokesman.
Only at the end of February did Hartmut Bomhoff leave the college. The accusations of sexual harassment had reached an increasingly broad audience and pressure from within had increased. Nevertheless, an internal mail from the chancellor praised Bomhoff, saying his intellectual impulses had been an enrichment to the college. “We owe much to your work. Dear Hartmut, all the best for your new ventures!”
Then, the University of Potsdam got involved and the institution’s president, Oliver Günther, convened a six-person investigative commission. Their work is ongoing, with a report expected in August. It is said the commission is looking into a variety of accusations against Walter Homolka and Hartmut Bomhoff.
A former University of Potsdam student, now a lawyer, wanted to help in the investigative effort and in January 2022, after learning of the abuse allegations, she turned to the offices of Manja Schüle, the minister of science, research and culture for the state of Brandenburg. She then launched a misconduct survey, in which several people took part anonymously. The school director responded to her efforts via email, asking her who she was working for and telling her that no voluntary messengers to the state government were needed.
The Behavioral Codex
One of the few who is willing to use her full name when discussing alleged misconduct surrounding rabbinical training is Naomi Henkel-Guembel, the lawyer’s life partner. In 2018, she began training to become a rabbi at Zacharias Frankel College, an additional institution at the University of Potsdam under Homolka’s control where conservative rabbis are educated. In her acceptance to the rabbinate, the college wrote that it was deeply impressed by her talents and passion for Jewish life and learning.
The institution then began planning her ordination, but in September 2021, she received a letter from the decan and head of the college alleging that she had violated the institution’s behavioral codex on several occasions, that the basis of trust had been destroyed and that she was no longer a rabbinical student, effective immediately. “I was shocked,” she says. “I don’t even know which alleged behavioral codex they are referring to.” She believes that her expulsion was linked to her political work.
On Oct. 9, 2019, the day of the most important Jewish festival of Yom Kippur, an armed right-wing extremist tried to force his way into the synagogue in Halle. Henkel-Guembel was there, and after that, she began getting more involved. On several occasions, she says, the college told her either directly or indirectly to back off. But she became a public voice for those affected by the attack and was a co-organizer of a festival held in opposition to anti-Semitism and right-wing terrorism.
Emails show that her decision to moderate a panel at that festival meant that she risked, due to coronavirus rules in place, not being able to attend in person the introductory events for a semester in Israel. The college apparently interpreted that as a breach of loyalty. When reached for comment, the college pointed to a unanimous resolution reached together with the Rabbinic Cabinet and also listed additional misconduct. Henkel-Guembel, for example, allegedly showed disrespect for places and objects of worship.
The reference is likely to an incident from July 2019. That summer, she had portrait photos taken of herself in the community room without prior permission. In the photographs, she has a prayer shawl draped over her shoulders and the Israeli and German flags are in the background, along with a Torah scroll. The images were intended as an artistic-disquisitive examination of her identity. Bomhoff walked in and began screaming in anger, she and the photographer recall. He raged that she would be thrown out of the college and accused her of blasphemy. Bomhoff, she says, then called Homolka, who also then yelled at her through the phone. The decan got involved. The student was put on temporary “probation,” was banned from the premises for a time and also had to apologize to Homolka and others. When asked for comment on the incident, Homolka’s lawyer demurred with a reference to the ongoing legal proceedings.