Commission confirms abuse of power at liberal rabbinical college

EAn independent commission from the University of Potsdam has confirmed the allegation of abuse of power at the Abraham Geiger College (AGK) in Potsdam. The AGK is an institute affiliated with the university in the legal form of a non-profit limited liability company for the training of liberal rabbis. The written report by the professor at the School of Jewish Theology at the Philosophical Faculty Jonathan Schorsch in January 2022 got the ball rolling.

Schorsch had raised massive allegations against the previous director and managing director of the college, Walter Homolka, who founded the institute in 1999. His spouse B. is said to have sexually harassed students and sent corresponding videos and pictures. B. had offered courses at the college and had taken on some of the public relations work; after the massive allegations, the employment relationship with him was terminated at the end of February this year. The allegations against him were therefore not investigated further.

Allegations of sexual harassment have not been confirmed

The President of the University of Potsdam, Oliver Günther, then set up a university investigative commission that investigated the allegations in numerous hearings. It confirmed the allegations of abuse of power through the accumulation of offices, the creation of problematic study and employment relationships and negative career interventions.

Twenty people were interviewed for this, including students, former and current employees of the university, current and former employees of the AGK, as well as former lecturers and employees. The commission of inquiry consisted of members of the university and was headed by the central equal opportunities officer, Christina Wolff.

It could not be proven that Homolka himself was involved in sexually harassing students. “Not demonstrably confirmed” was also the allegation of toleration of sexually harassing behavior on the part of spouse B.

However, the commission could not determine whether there were any invitations to the sports and wellness area of ​​a luxury hotel in Berlin. When the Abraham Geiger College was still located in Berlin’s Kantstraße, there was the possibility of discounted membership in the hotel’s fitness area. Apparently there were “encounters in the pool and sauna”.

“Exploitation” of “dependency relationships”

It could not be confirmed whether there had been sexual assaults. “However, it can certainly be said that the corresponding places can hardly be considered as places of intensive scientific communication,” says the report.

The commission concentrated on the allegation of “exploitation of institutional power and dependency relationships”. It was about a conspicuous accumulation of offices, study and employment relationships, appointment decisions and possible career interventions. Individual and committee decisions had been made several times, “which had a very negative impact on the further life and career path of those affected and for which Mr. Homolka was personally responsible because of the abundance of his direct and indirect influence possibilities,” the commission notes. Specifically, it is the admission to ordination procedures and the rejection of scholarship applications.

The Commission sees the accusation of a “climate of fear” repeatedly voiced by students and always denied by Homolka as implicitly confirmed by the reports of the decentralized equal opportunities officers. She reports on the loyalty pressure towards Homolka among students and staff. In addition, those affected were repeatedly yelled at and threatened with being thrown out. They were privately contacted and harassed in their free time. Support for academic relationships and the extension of employment were made dependent on loyal behavior.

Employment contracts were mostly only concluded for short periods (one to two semesters), which increased the dependency of the employees. Those who did not want to comply with demands were put under pressure. Employees were expected to be available at all times, including evenings and weekends. Several of those affected have also confirmed this to the FAZ. Family obligations were not taken into account, instead the employees should provide private services for their superiors, for example preparing their tax returns.

The commission is surprisingly clear in its generally reserved report with regard to a guideline “for respectful and trusting cooperation” at the Abraham Geiger College, which states that the AGK is “fundamentally and as a whole a protected space” and “things and Topics that are learned from courses or other contexts” should not be communicated to the outside world by any group of members. The directive, which was also signed by Homolka, is “completely inadmissible” in a state university dedicated to “the spirit of enlightenment”, the commission states. The allegations of plagiarism against Homolka could not be clarified, work is continuing on this.

University President Günther pointed out that Homolka is still a civil servant in the state of Brandenburg and is on leave. He was granted a sabbatical for the 2022/23 winter semester. Should the AGK continue the leave of absence, Homolka would be a simple professor at the University of Potsdam. The partially confirmed allegations have so far resulted in no “criminal or civil law consequences and in this respect also no civil service consequences,” said Günther. However, he left no doubt that he intends to follow the recommendations of the commission of inquiry to unbundle Homolka’s management functions, to set up independent control bodies and more transparency, as well as to review the rules of procedure.