Coordination and educational management: Lola Neuberger, Leah Käser
Editor: Lola Neuberger
Design & Layout: Shani Nahum
We would like to thank the project participants, workshop trainers and artistic advisors.
® Hashomer Hatzair Deutschland, September 2024
Supported by the Berlin Project Fund for Cultural Education
With the support of the support organisation of Hashomer Hatzair Deutschland e.V. & Hashomer Hatzair World Movement www.hashomer-hatzair.de * info@hashomer-hatzair.de
About us
“Hashomer Hatzair Deutschland" (HHD) is the re-established Jewish youth association in Germany that promotes social justice and dialogue through nonformal educational tools. As a youth movement, we believe in the principle of youth autonomy, and our activities are planned and supported by the young people themselves.
Our federation works with partner organisations and the Hashomer Hatzair World Movement to come together on a personal and social level. We strive to create a safer space by empowering Jewish socialists and their allies. Our goal is to foster independent and critical thinking, driven by our commitment to advancing a more just society.
Introduction
As we come to summarise the project "Jüdisches Empowerment ist Bunt", we acknowledge the challenging times around this work. What originally began as an innovative idea in supporting queer Jewish lives in Germany and its visibility, became a loud statement - we are here, we are queers, we can also be Jewish - but we mainly want to celebrate life, art and culture. Exist. In the last year the project name became its core strength. If one wishes to empower us, or we wish to do it ourselves, it must come in colours - all colours. The project was dedicated to empowerment and awareness work through creative and artistic methods. We have explored various ways, such as graffiti and drag workshops, visits in museums, queer-secular Kabbalat Shabbat, Jewish-queer tour in Berlin, and also through challenging Hebrew as a normally taught as a binary and conservative language. We wish to empower the readers of this booklet in performing similar projects, raising a voice, and working together, Jews and non-Jews, in promoting colourful lives, and a better future.
Inhalt
01. Timeline of the Jewish Queers
*Milestones in queer (/Jewish) history:
1897
Foundation of the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (WhK): Magnus Hirschfeld founded the WhK in Berlin, the world's first homosexual movement
1933-1945
Persecution during National Socialism: persecution of queer people and their deportation and murder in concentration camps
1871
Introduction of §175 in the penal code: criminalised sexual acts between men
1969
Partial decriminalisation of homosexuality: homosexual acts between adults over the age of 21 no longer punishable by law
2001
Introduction of the registered civil partnership
1994
Complete abolition of §175: complete decriminalisation of homosexual acts
2017
Introduction of "marriage for all": equal right to marriage and adoption for homosexual couples as for heterosexual couples
2024
Project "Jewish Empowerment is Colourful" of the Hashomer Hatzair DE
2020
Introduction of the R.Keshet role as part of the Hashomer Hatzair World Movement
02. Geschichte der jüdischen Queerness
Queerness in
Judaism is a controversial, multifaceted and exciting topic. On the one hand, queer identities are already reflected in various ways in historical Jewish texts and traditions. For example, the Talmud distinguishes between the following different "genders":
1. Zachar, male
2. Nekevah, female
3. Androgynous, has both male and female characteristics
4. Tumour, without sexual characteristics
5. Aylonite hamah, identified as female at birth, but later develops male characteristics naturally
6. Aylonite adam, identified as female at birth, but later develops male characteristics through human intervention
7. Saris hamah, identified as male at birth, but later develops female characteristics naturally
8. Saris adam, identified as male at birth, later develops female characteristics through human intervention.
Thus, the Jewish understanding of gender appears to be neither binary nor a grid into which every person must be forced to fit. At the same time, despite this historical recognition, the reality for queer Jewish people in conservative communities is often challenging. Due to experiences of discrimination and marginalisation, they often seek acceptance and representation outside of the religious community. It is therefore important to promote an open and inclusive Judaism that offers queer people a safe space, both culturally and spiritually.
03. Persönlichkeiten
Magnus Hirschfeld
14. May 1868 − 14. May 1935
German doctor in Berlin, sex researcher, Jew, socialist, gay, cofounder of the world's first homosexual movement ("ScientificHumanitarian Committees", WhK).
With his theory of "sexual intermediates" and the "Yearbooks for Sexual Intermediates", he laid the foundation for today's theory on queerness and gender diversity. He opened the "Institute for Sexual Science" as a research centre and contact point for LGBTQIA+ people. As the founder of the WhK, he fought for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, but ultimately failed when the National Socialists seized power. He died in exile in 1935.
Anita Berber
10. June 1899 − 10. November 1928
German model, stage and film actress, queer, pioneer for the eroticisation of dance, icon of Berlin nightlife, according to Karl Lagerfeld "the most daring woman of her time". Anita Berber moved to Berlin in 1914, began her career as a dancer and actress and soon became a star on Berlin's stages. Berber was known for her unconventional style and provocative performances, which brought her great fame. She flouted conventions, broke taboos and lived a lifestyle characterised by excess, drug consumption and scandals. She soon conquered stages in the Middle East. She died of tuberculosis on 10 November 1928 at the age of 29.
04. Queer Hebräisch Wörterbuch
*Queer Hebrew dictionary
Did you know? The Hashomer Hatzair "shomeric language" consists mainly of Hebrew words that are used in a specific way to support the educational work of Hashomer Hatzair. Over time, the Shomeric language has been adapted to be inclusive of all genders and is used in this way all over the world.
HASHOMER HATZAIR: (in Hebrew), "the young guardian", the name of the youth movement
CHAVERSCHAFT: (in Yiddish), friendship, camaraderie
KEN: a local group or branch
SCHOMRIMOT (Pl): Members of Hashomer Hatzair
MADRICH*A: a group leader, youth leader
CHANICH*A: a member of the youth movement
PEULA: an activity or action of the youth group
KVUTZA: an activity group
CHULZAH SHOMRIT: blue shirt with white lace, worm for group activities
CHAZAK VEEMATZ: Motto of Hashomer Hatzair, it means "Be strong and coura-geous!"
Quotes from the Queer Hebrew course:
Translation: No phones in class! (Our Hebrew teacher was not a big fan of trying to watch a European Championship game on a mobile phone during the course)
1. Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Asexual
Non-binary
LGBTQIA+ Philadelphia Pride Flag
Aromatic
Pansexual
Inter
05. Interview mit einer Jewish Queen
(היידוהי הכלמ)
Judy LaDivina was born at the end of December 2015 after moving from Tel Aviv to Berlin in the same year. With strong roots in the performing arts, she performs as a choreographer and lip-sync artist extraordinary. Judy works internationally and is notorious for her multilingual lip-syncing in 35 languages and her divine attitude. She is a political activist who uses her voice to raise awareness of queer issues such as tolerance and diversity in the queer community.
Judy LaDivina led our Jewish Drag Workshop. We interviewed her to find out more about drag as an art form and her perspective as a Jewish-Israeli drag queen from Berlin.
How did you start with drag?
After working backstage with my drag mum for a long time, I just felt very drawn to this world of illusion, and she helped me with the beginning: understanding make-up and so on and so forth. And yes, that's just how it came about.
How would you describe drag in one sentence? To what extent is drag a form of art?
Drag is a great creative playground. It is the expression of freedom and the outlet for love without suffering. Drag is art in every sense, from every angle, from start to finish, around the edges and down the sides.
What does it mean to you to be a Jewish, Israeli drag queen?
It means that I have a very rich and beautiful culture to draw inspiration from. I grew up with a value system that is very inspiring because it includes values like love, care, compassion and unity, which I think is inherently very queer.
How does being Jewish affect your experiences/performances in the drag world?
I don't think the drag world is any different than any other world. You are confronted with racism and sometimes you are confronted with it as a drag queen and sometimes as a regular Jewish person. When I'm in drag, I put my Jewishness out there
more, which just exposes me to it more. But I stand by it, I take it with pride and honour, because I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
Is drag a form of art that gives you the feeling of being strengthened in your Jewish identity? In what way? It gives me a holiday from the real world because I can play and be someone. I don't think I'm able to describe or even express what it means when you see someone express their freedom to the fullest, whether it's a shy person who just walks into a room and is now living and feeling themselves in
full make-up or someone in the audience who comes in with a certain belief and then leaves the show with a different view. You feel like you've made a difference, that you've planted a seed and now you're seeing a blossom.
Is there a common misconception about drag that you would like to clear up? What would you like people to know about you, drag or being Jewish in drag?
I think drag is very, very beautiful and you need a lot of skills to do it and I wish people would appreciate it more. And I want to say to all my Jewish brothers and sisters: be proud of who you are and show up in drag, we need more Jewish drag performers, we need more Jewish queer representation. And until then, I will continue to do it for the rest of us.
06. Projekt − Zeugnisse
In the final workshop, the project participants were able to put their thoughts and impressions on canvas. The focus was not on the result, but on the artistic freedom behind it.
07. Partners
Keshet in the World Movement
For the Hashomer Hatzair World Movement, Keshet means diversity, inclusion, safe space, acceptance, compassion, empathy, being strong, being brave, educating.
"Rosh*a Keshet" are the people in the Hashomer Hatzair World Movement who actively take responsibility for creating a safer space for members of all sexualities and identities. Each of our locations has at least one R. Keshet.
The Hashomer Hatzair World Movement strives to celebrate diversity and fluidity, to recognise the past and present struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community and to contest them ourselves. To create a safer space for all queer people, both within shomer communities and in society as a whole. Keshet means change, Tikun Olam, love, future, taking a stand, changing lives, being PROUD.
Keshet Germany
The organisation Keshet Deutschland campaigns for the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, inter* and other queer people within and outside the Jewish community in Germany. Keshet Germany's vision is for Jewish LGBTIQIA* people to have equal rights and visibility in all Jewish communities in Germany and worldwide. The rights of and interaction with queer Jewish people in Germany should be promoted and open queer life and queer families in Jewish communities should be made a matter of course. Keshet Germany is an important point of contact for young people in particular and offers a safe space to find and develop their own identity.
The most important topics also include addressing and combating all forms of discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual and gender identity, raising awareness of LGBTIQIA* issues and promoting social dialogue between people with LGBTIQIA* identities and others, both within the Jewish community and across religions.
Support us
We look forward to your support and donations.
Our IBAN is DE34 3702 0500 0001 7526 01
You can also donate via PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/HashomerHatzairDE
It is also possible to become a supporting member. Please contact us at foerderverein@hashomer-hatzair.de
