Project: “Wall of Questions”: Campaign against Jew hatred

Religious Jews don’t eat cheeseburgers, and matzah isn’t a boy’s name, it’s unleavened flatbread: the nationwide “Question Wall” campaign that has been launched aims to tackle hatred of Jews in Germany by providing answers to everyday questions. Behind it is the European Leadership Network, the campaign is supported by the Federal Commissioner against Anti-Semitism, Felix Klein.

At the center is a website where anyone can ask questions about Judaism and have them answered. The first 20 questions – for example: Do Jews eat cheeseburgers? – were given as a suggestion by the campaign makers of the Philipp und Keuntje agency and illustrated with colorful pop art posters.

They are partly ironic, but partly meant seriously, such as “Can one be Jewish and Arabic?” or “Why does the modern State of Israel exist?” The motifs are shown in social networks, media and cinemas.

Campaign background

Carsten Ovens, head of the Leadership Network, referred to the 2,641 anti-Jewish crimes in the past year. The creators now want 2641 questions. There is a lot of ignorance and few points of contact between Jews and non-Jews in everyday life, said Ovens.

Some people used anti-Jewish stereotypes without realizing it. The campaign avoids pointing fingers and dismay, but emphasizes the vitality of Jewish culture in Germany.

“We will not reach the people where the hatred runs very deep,” said creative director Hans Esders of Philipp and Keuntje. The target group is the “wobbly candidates” who could open up to anti-Jewish feelings or feel insecure about a culture that is perceived as foreign.

The European Leadership Network (ELNET) is a non-Jewish non-profit organization that claims to have been promoting European-Israeli relations for 15 years.