Achava Festival in Thuringia

 

Culture and brotherliness: The new festival promotes artistic quality and interreligious tolerance.

 

Thuringian state capital Erfurt is the venue of the Achava Festival, taking place for the first time in 2015. Its patrons include the German Federal Foreign Office and the Israeli Embassy in Berlin. We spoke to initiator and director Martin Kranz.

Mr. Kranz, what is the Achava Festival?

Achava is Hebrew and means brotherliness. We seek dialogue between the religions. On the one hand we aim to achieve this through art, music and theatre; yet, on the other, we also seek to nurture a critical discourse on the topics that concern us today. So, the festival is artistically creative and politically discursive.

What do you aim to achieve with it?

The crucial thing is also reaching those people whose opinions have hitherto been based on prejudices. I hope that visitors to the festival will think about other cultures, histories and the circumstances under which people have to lead their lives. We present a series of discussions called “Unter dem Feigenbaum” (Under the fig tree), dealing with the major crisis regions and war zones: Syria, Iran, Africa, Ukraine, as well as Israel. We want people to engage in discussion and embark on a journey of the mind.

What else is on the programme? What are the highlights?

We have brilliant concerts with internationally known musicians and for the panel discussions speakers with unique expertise in their respective field. The special classic culture highlight is of course the opening concert. We will be playing Jewish synagogue music with the RIAS Kammerchor – the chamber choir is renowned the world over for this kind of music. And we have the world’s best cantors on board: from Israel, the USA and Sweden. The concert is to be held at Erfurt Cathedral.

This year Germany and Israel are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations. Does the festival reference this fact?
Two performances are particularly concerned with this: Idan Raichel and his project from Israel, which focusses on the topic of Germany, and Avishai Cohen, the great bass player, said: “In a year like this I would like nothing more than to come and play your closing concert!”

Why Thuringia?

For one I am from Thuringia, for another Erfurt has a great Jewish tradition. It houses the oldest synagogue in Europe. And we need to make a statement. The NSU scandal, Pegida – there are problems in Thuringia and we also need to be in those places where it isn’t always easy.

Are the people in Thuringia interested in this issue?

Yes, the festival got up and running very quickly; we had just two and a half months. And we managed in this short time to find partners to finance the festival, such as the Foreign Office, foundations, companies – most of them from Thuringia. We are seeing great support and interest both here and beyond the state.

And the Jewish community?

The Jewish community is relatively small, with around 500 members and only few young people. They are hoping that young people here will be encouraged to take an interest in Judaism. That is why they are looking forward to the festival. I believe that the Achava Festival is an opportunity to bring the topic of Judaism in Thuringia out of its niche and to show that being Jewish is a normal part of contemporary life.

Who else are you expecting to attend the festival?
I hope to see a broad mix of people. A lot of people will be coming from Berlin, as I also know a great many through my work. Our objective however is to attract people from across Germany and the world. The programme is capable of it; our performers are world class.

You directed the Jewish Culture Days in Berlin for eleven years, an event which is not being held this year. Is the Achava Festival the same as the Jewish Culture Days, only in Thuringia instead of Berlin?
The difference is that we want to invite all religions. The Jewish Culture Days event was a specifically Jewish festival. The Achava Festival is an expansion of it and thus shines a light on interreligious dialogue. The quality of the performers is the same however.

How do you hope the new festival will develop in future?

The idea goes beyond a regular culture festival. We aim to get numerous institutions interested in a long-term joint project. I managed that in Berlin. And now I want to realize it in Thuringia as well. I hope that we can present numerous religions and journey through all religious communities together. Our world today is marked by religious conflict. I hope that Achava can help clear up misunderstandings, find common ground and promote tolerance. Not just this year, but in the long term.

    

Achava Festival in Erfurt from 27 August until 6 September 2015

www.achava-festspiele.de