“I want to stay and rest here for a few days; I like the city and the people. (…) The whole thing has a look of bonhommie and wealth everywhere that is very cozy. (…) Graz is one of the most beautiful large areas that I have seen so far; the mountains all around give the most wonderful views. “
This is what the Saxon travel writer and poet Johann Gottfried Seume wrote in 1802 about Graz, the capital of Styria.
SCHWARZENEGGER In Germany, hardly anything is known about the second largest city in Austria. Some may know that the American actor and former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger went to school in Graz and was in the military – but that’s about it. Located around 150 kilometers southwest of Vienna, Graz is always a little in the shadow of the capital.
The local Jewish community is also suffering from this. Although it is the second largest in the country after the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde in Vienna with around 7,500 members – the difference is considerable: in Graz there are only 150 Jews. To keep such a small community alive, you have to take action.
This is what mayor Elie Rosen (50) said to himself and had an idea. You have to attract young people, he thought to himself – preferably students. Because Graz is a university city, around a fifth of the inhabitants are students. There are four universities, two pedagogical colleges, a conservatory and two technical colleges – you can study just about anything in Graz, says Rosen enthusiastically: from art and music to law, engineering and economics to medicine and the humanities. Austria is particularly attractive for students from Germany because most courses are open to admission and there is no numerus clausus.
initiative So that more Jewish students decide in favor of Graz, Rosen has started an initiative: “We will provide them with living space free of charge for at least three years and set up a study room with the appropriate infrastructure for them in the parish hall.”
The community has several properties, some houses are in the immediate vicinity of the synagogue and the community center. “A number of apartments are currently being repaired there, and student shared apartments are being created that we will make available furnished.”
The plan is to start with five students in the fall – “if demand is greater, we can readjust it quickly,” says Rosen.
The students should enrich the community. In order for them to be integrated, it is important that they stay for at least three years.
Even now, students from outside the community can often be seen, but they usually only stay for a short time, for example for an Erasmus semester, says Rosen.
»So the idea was: How do we create incentives for students to take part in community life over a longer period of time? Because we want to secure the activity of the community, also in the synagogue area. “
Furnished student flat shares are available near the synagogue.
The Graz synagogue, an imposing domed building with lots of glass, was built 20 years ago on the initiative of the city on David-Herzog-Platz – where the old synagogue was until the pogrom night in 1938. There is room for many prayers.
Immigration But for the small Jewish communities in Austria to grow, more than the influx of students is required. “We won’t be able to do without immigration in the long term,” says Rosen. If the government wants to continue promoting Jewish life, they will have to help with migration. “We small communities will probably only survive if we get immigrants from the former Soviet Union. You will have to create special quotas. “
The Graz community is small, but Rosen describes it as lively and a “colorful mixture”. Only a few members come from families that lived in Styria before the Shoah. Most of them have moved here: from Israel, Iran, the former Soviet Union, yes, even from Ethiopia.
The fact that some parishioners live in neighboring Hungary also contributes to the “colorful mix”. All of this leads to a high level of acceptance for other cultural backgrounds in the community. Students who are new to the community are therefore unlikely to feel like “the strangers.”
spectrum What could also make it easier for young adults to gain a foothold is the fact that the Graz community is not too old. “The 80 plus generation is relatively weak here,” says Elie Rosen. “The spectrum of the community extends mainly from teenagers to early retirement ages.”
There are no Orthodox members, “most of them are at best traditional.” The need for rabbinical advice is “relatively small,” said Rosen. There is a parish cantor, this is essentially enough – the services of the Viennese rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister, who is also officially a Styrian rabbi, are hardly needed.
The Jews of Graz are traditionally in close contact with the community in the capital. Together with the communities in other cities in the country, they have formed the Israelite Religious Society Austria (IRG). Rosen is its vice-president and, as a lawyer and business economist, is responsible for finances.
EXCHANGE Above all, the Jews of Graz maintain contact with the communities in Zagreb and Trieste beyond their national borders. After the pandemic, the main aim is to promote cultural exchange, says Rosen. The aim is to build a tourist path that connects Jewish places between the three cities.
In general, the Jews of Graz rely heavily on culture. The construction of a new Jewish cultural center is currently being planned. “We have created almost 600 square meters of open space,” says Rosen, “the cost estimates are currently being made with the city.” The cultural sector is an essential external element of the community. But one does not want to “offer folklore, as is often the case,” the community chief tries to delimit.
For the future, Rosen is planning an artist-in-residence program in the community: A Jewish artist from abroad is to work in Graz for a certain period of time and live in the community. But it will take some time until then. First of all, the students should come.
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