Walter Homolka (born 21 May 1964 in

Landau an der Isar ] Landau an der Isar (Central Bavarian: ''Landa an da Isar'') is the second-largest town in the Lower Bavarian district, or ''Landkreis'', of Dingolfing-Landau, in the state of Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Isar, 120 km downstream fro ...

) is a German

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. Homolka studied in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and has a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. He is an adjunct

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

at the

University of Potsdam The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...

and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at its

Abraham Geiger Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar, considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Emphasizing Judaism's constant development along history and universalist traits, Geige ...

College, which was founded in 1999. On 14 September 2006, Homolka ordained the first three rabbis in Germany since the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

at the New Synagogue of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. Rabbi Homolka is chairman of the

Leo Baeck Leo Baeck (23 May 1873 – 2 November 1956) was a 20th-century German rabbi, scholar, and theologian. He served as leader of Reform Judaism in his native country and internationally, and later represented all German Jews during the Nazi era ...

Foundation and an executive board member of the

World Union for Progressive Judaism The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries ...

. In 2007, Homolka established the Jewish Institute of Cantorial Arts, of which he is the president. A member of the French Legion of Honour, he is widely published internationally and holds a variety of distinctions. The

Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved th ...

conferred upon him a "Doctor Humanarum Litterarum" honoris causa. Homolka is active in Jewish-Christian dialogue as a guest at the

Central Committee of German Catholics The Central Committee of German Catholics (german: Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken, ZdK) is a lay body comprising representatives of various Catholic organisations in Germany. They organise the Catholic Days in Germany. The organisation ...

. In 2008, he condemned the new Good Friday Prayer instituted by Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

Conversion

Homolka is a

convert to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Th ...

. He explained that his conversion took place because he was fascinated by the concept of a hidden God in Judaism, and also because he opposed and wanted to leave the "Catholic spiritual

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

" of his family and social environment.

Sexual abuse scandal

In May 2022, several newspapers in Germany featured a series of in-depth reports on sexual misconduct by Homolka and his husband, including inappropriate behaviour that was targeted at students of the Abraham Geiger College he founded and where he served as rector. As a result, Homolka was forced to announce he was temporarily stepping down from all his roles.

Honours and awards

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

(2006) * Muhammad-Nafi-Cheleby Award (2011) * Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(France) *

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

(2001) * Gold Decoration of the Province of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

* Gold Decoration for Services to the Province of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

* Silver Medal of the City of Vienna * Knight of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

* International Honorary Citizen of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

* Bundeswehr Cross of Honour in Gold * Officer of the German Federal Merit Order *

Order of Merit of Berlin The Order of Merit of Berlin (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Berlin) is this highest award of the German State of Berlin. Awarded in the name of the Senate of Berlin, the order had recognized outstanding contributions to the State of Berlin sin ...

Order of Merit of Brandenburg The Order of Merit of Brandenburg (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Brandenburg) is a civil order of merit, and the highest award of the German State of Brandenburg. The award is presented by the Minister-President of Brandenburg. Notable recipi ...

References

External links

* http://www.whomolka.de/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Homolka, Walter 1964 births Living people 20th-century British rabbis 21st-century British rabbis Alumni of King's College London Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Converts to Reform Judaism German Reform rabbis Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic LGBT Jews Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Dingolfing-Landau Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art Recipients of the Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Studienstiftung alumni Academic staff of the University of Potsdam