Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Association of European Jewish Museums held at The Black Diamond of The Royal Library in Copenhagen (DK) November 22, 2016

Chair: Hanno Loewy Board: Bernhard Purin, Joanne Rosenthal, Lucja Koch, Erika Perahia-Zemour Minutes: Eva Koppen (AEJM Sr. Project Manager)

1. Those present

See attendance list in Appendix

2. Minutes of the last meeting The minutes of the AEJM Annual General Meeting 2015, held at The Israel Museum in Jerusalem on 17 November 2015, were approved.

3. Chairman’s Report Hanno Loewy

In order to inform the AEJM members in advance, the invitation and agenda of the AGM was sent out to all members on October 24, 2016. This mailing included a proposal for an update of the Practical Standard Regulations, an overview of new membership applications, and an application to the Board by Christina Meri.

This January Anita Christensen from Oslo (NO) took over the position of Community Manager from Ardjuna Candotti, who was appointed Programme Manager Education & Exhibitions at the East Indies Commemoration Centre.

Although the Brexit immediately impacted the AEJM financially, 2016 has been a good year until so far. The AEJM organized 2 curatorial seminars and a seminar on museum education and has granted 3 member institutions an expert visit in the framework of the Advisory Visits Grant Programme.

In 2017 the AEJM intends to organize a “Sephardic Year”, holding all its activities at locations that are rooted in Sephardic traditions and heritage: Amsterdam, Izmir, , Venice and Toledo.

4. Treasurer’s Report Bernhard Purin

Membership Fees In 2016 the AEJM was able to collect almost all annual membership fees from its members. Nevertheless the proces of collecting the fees throughout the year is rather time- consuming, as the management has to put a lot of extra effort into members that do not pay their respective invoices on time. The AEJM therefore added extra adminitration costs to invoices that had not been paid by September. The invoices for 2017 will be sent out early January.

Funding & Grants Through the the German Federal Foreign Office funded the Advanced Curatorial Education Programmes 2016 in Southern // Vorarlberg and in Saint Petersburg.

The David Berg Foundation supported the Museum Education Seminar 2016 in Vilnius with a full grant. This is the final year of the DBF’s support to the MES.

In 2015 the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe renewed its grant to the AEJM for the years 2015-2018. This grant enables the AEJM to cover costs for the Advisory Visits Grant Programme, programme costs of the Annual Conference, and selected travel grants for the A-CEP and the Conference, as well as to operational costs such as staffing and mainting its website. As an immediate result of the Brexit and the drop of the pound sterling, the AEJM received the 2016 grant of 50,000 GPB as 58,995 EUR, which is more than 10,000 EUR less than the 69,765 EUR as received in 2015. The AEJM had estimated the RF’s contribution to the 2016 budget at 64,000 EUR and thus faced an effective loss of ca. 5,000 EUR.

The RF also supports the AEJM with an extra grant for the pilot edition of Jewish Museums Today: Public & Space. This new programme initiative is scheduled for February 2017.

Adoption of balance sheet and statement of income & expenditures Treasurer Bernhard Purin presented the Financial Report 2016 (Jan 1 – Oct 31). At the start of the AGM the Report and the Bank Balance Sheet were handed out to those attending. In spring 2017 administration office Agaath Administraties in Amsterdam will complete the annual report, based on the administration and documentation to be provided by the AEJM management.

Edwin Alkin from the Irish Jewish Museum stated that the Financial Audit Committee, consisting of Otto Lohr and himself, have checked the Financial Report 2015 (< 1 November) and the Bank Balance Sheet (1< November) of the AEJM. According to Alkin the figures are in balance with the bank statements. The new FAC will check the Financial Report and Bank Balance Sheet of the full year in spring 2016.

Funding 2017 For the next year the AEJM expects for the grant from the Rothschild Foundation a similar loss and will anticipate this by including a “safe” amount in its 2017 budget. As a result, the AEJM will have to economize on both programme costs and operational costs (staffing).

The AEJM and the Jewish Museum Berlin reapplied at the German Federal Foreign Office for the 2017 editions of the Advanced Curatorial Education Programme. Informally this application has been approved. The official confirmation is expected in February 2017.

Researching new funding will be prioritized next year. This will include funding opportunities at Creative Europe – Collaborative Projects and private foundations.

5. Appointment of audit committee Bernhard Purin

Edwin Alkin stepped down as member of the Financial Audit Committee and proposed Janne Laursen of the Danish Jewish Museum as new member. She was accepted by the membership as new member of the FAC. In 2017 the FAC will comprise of Otto Lohr and Janne Laursen. Purin thanked WG for his input in the previous two years.

6. Training and Professional Development Joanne Rosenthal, Lucja Koch and Bernhard Purin

Advanced Curatorial Education Programme 2016 and programming 2017 Since 2014 the support of the German Federal Foreign Office through the JM Berlin enables the AEJM to organize 2 editions of the Advanced Curatorial Education Programme per year (until 2018), with Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek as Programme Director, assisted by Michaela Feurstein-Prasser. In 2016 the intensive 5-day seminars took place at various locations in Southern Germany and Austria (April, 15 participants) and in Saint Petersburg (September, 17 participants).

The first edition had a focus on Jewish built heritage in the framework of curatorial work at Jewish museums and on temporary exhibition practice. It was organized in collaboration with the following member institutions: Jewish Museum Munich, Jewish Museum of Franconia, Jewish Culture Museum Augsburg-Schwaben, Jewish Museum Hohenems. The programme also included study visits to various synagogues in the region, as well as a workshop at the Ulm Museum.

During the second edition the group explored a wide variety of collections and exhibitions across Saint Petersburg. The programme was organized in collaboration with the following members institutions: State Museum of the History of Religion, Center “Petersburg Judaica”, the Russian Museum of Ethnography.

The general perception of the 2016 A-CEP editions was very good. All participants considered it to be useful, helpful, informative and inspirational for their daily practice as curator in their museum. The organisational team will implement further improvements and recommendations by participants in the 2017 editions.

Joanne Rosenthal announced the upcoming editions in Izmir (April 2017) and Venice (October 2017). The AEJM will publish a call for registration for the Izmir programme later this month. Through the grants from the German Federal Foreign Office and the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe, the AEJM will again be able to offer travel grants to participants from member institutions with smaller financial means.

Museum Education Seminar 2016 and programming 2017 The third edition of the Museum Education Seminar, supported by the David Berg Foundation, took place in July and was hosted by the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum in Vilnius. The programme focused on the theme of politics of memory and included study visits to Paneriai, Kaunas, Trakai and Žiežmariai.

The MES programme was a combination of peer-to-peer education & exchange and of best practice examples. Participants were engaged to actively contribute to the programme by preparing presentations, leading discussions and workshops. The different sessions and its outcomes were documented by the participants in the MES Papers 2016 that are available online.

For 2017 the AEJM plans a study visit to London, in close collaboration with the Jewish Museum London. The AEJM has finished its MES grant from the David Berg Foundation this year and will develop a new professional development programme in accordance with its new Strategic Plan 2019-2023). In between the AEJM plans to continue its programming for the education network by offering thematical study visits relevant for the work of European Jewish museums. The AEJM will not be be able to offer travel grants, but aims at keeping its programming budget-friendly through smart planning and scheduling.

Advisory Visits Grant Programme In 2016 the AEJM published 2 calls for applications (April and September) for the Advisory Visits Grant Programme. The following member institutions were granted: Museum of Turkish Jews in Istanbul (collection management), Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum in Vilnius (permanent displays) and Museum “Jews in Latvia” in Riga (permanent displays). In addition, the 2015 grant to the Manchester Jewish Museum (permanent displays) was implemented in 2016.

In July Joanna Fikus, Project Manager of the Core Exhibition at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, and Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek visited Vilnius to advise Kamile Rupeikaite and her team of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum on the development of exhibition concepts for the Litvak Culture and Art Museum, a new branch of the museum.

In August Ilya Lensky and his team of the Museum “Jews in Latvia” in Riga received its consultancy visit by Bernhard Purin who advised on changes to the permanent exhibition at the present locaton of the museum.

In August Mirjam Knotter, curator of the Jewish Cultural Quarter, visited Istanbul to consult Nisya Allovi and her team on collection management in the new museum space. The visit especially focused on registration of objects, using databases, collection strategies for the future. Allovi stated that after the two expert visits her museum has received over the years have been of great importance. After the first visit the team got more focused. She also stressed the importance of this grant programme for funding applications: one can use the references of the consultant.

In the 2017 the AEJM will publish only 1 call for applications, most likely in spring. This will enable the AEJM to grant and implement all grants within the same financial year. Eva Koppen stressed that the programme is also open for applications with a focus on museum education. Over the last years, the AEJM has only received 1 application for consultancy in this field and in 2017 it will prioritize such applications.

7. Proposed Amendments to the Practical Standard Regulations Hanno Loewy

The Board proposed amendments to 4 articles from the PSR related to either membership (1.2, 1.4) or conference fees (4.7, 5.5),. The proposal had been circulated a month prior to the General Meeting.

1.2 Museums wishing to join the AEJM and to support the aims of the AEJM as Full Members must fulfill the ICOM definition of a museum. The Board proposed this amendment to enhance further professionalization of the AEJM. Zanet Battinou () asked if this also applies to those institutions that are already a full member of the association. The proposed amendment should apply to all members, but will be implemented when assessing new applications only.

1.4 By adjusting expertise to ‘museum expertise’ as a requirement for individuals wishing to join the AEJM as Individual Associate Member, the AEJM aims at emphasizing the museum aspect.

4.7 The Board proposed to charge all delegates from member institutions a conference fee, instead of 1 delegate for free and additional delegates charged.

5.5 The Board also proposed that 1 delegate from each AEJM member may attend the conference at a special rate. The is to be decided by the Board and the host.

Some members expressed concerns about smaller museums being able to attend the conference and as a potential limitation of the membership gathering. The Board explained that this proposal is essential to keep on organizing the Annual Conference. Over the years, the Conference has developed into a major event, much bigger than it was at the start and when the PSR were written down. The conference welcomes more delegates, offers more sessions, excursions, catering etc. For hosting venues it has become difficult to assume the increased conference costs. Also it is often requested from by potential sponsors and funding partners that the event should generate its own income before they could consider sponsoring. Janne Laursen (Copenhagen) stated that it is very common to be charged for other, similar events.

As a result of the present situation, only large member institutions will be able to host the conference in the future. This is not a desirable situation, as the number of large members is also limited and one cannot ask these institutions only to host the conference. Mirjam Knotter (Amsterdam) added that it is also important to enable smaller institutions to host events as well, as they can get som much in return from all these visiting colleagues and other professionals.

The Board stressed that the adjustment of article 5.5 was designed to allow for a smaller and moderate fee for the first delegate of member institutions. According to this proposal the Board would be involved in determing the fee and thus not making it possible for a host to charge whatever it wants.

The Board explained again that all its progamming is supposed to be accessbile by all members, including all seminars. The AEJM has been offering numerous professional development opportunties free of charge and actually with many travel grants on offer, especially for member institutions with smaller financial means. The Board will strive for keeping the conference fees affordable for all its members. Furthermore, the AEJM will continue including a small budget for conference travel grants in at least 2017 and 2018, as it has been offering for many years. The AEJM could also offer to waive the conference fee in specific cases. The management will carefully assess each individual application, to ensure that those institutions in need of support actually receive support.

Mads Tangestuen (Oslo) suggested to use the existing ballot papers for voting so that each full member institution would have to opportunity to state yes, no or abstention, instead of the regular public vote. The proposal by the Board to ammend 4 articles in the PSR was accepted by the membership.

For: 26 (7 small, 5 medium, 3 large) Against: 6 (2 medium, 2 small) Abstention: 5 (2 small, 1 large)

8. Membership Applications Hanno Loewy

In 2016 the AEJM received 3 applications for Institutional Associate Membership (Georgian National Museum, National Museum of Italian and the Shoah, and MiQua Jewish Museum in the Archaeological Quarter Cologne), 1 application for Individual Associate Membership (Werner Transier), and the Board proposes to upgrade the Museum “Jews in Latvia” to Full Membership.The AGM was reminded that all members had received information on the new membership application in the mailing of October 24, in order to have information on the applying institutions prior to the meeting. This information contained a description of each applicant and the respective reference letters.

I. Institutional Associate Membership

Georgian National Museum

The Georgian National Museum holds a Jewish collection that is based on the former Jewish museum’s collections that were moved to the Georgian National Museum in 1953 when under Soviet rule the Jewish Museum in Tbilisi and the Synagogue building were confiscated. The reconstruction of the David Baazov Museum of the History of Jews of Georgia was completed in October 2014. The exhibition was jointly prepared by the Georgian National Museum and the Museum of the History of Jews of Georgia. The artifacts in the exhibition are only a part of the Jewish collections kept in the Georgian National Museum, however. Curator and Head of Temporary Exhibitions Lela Tsitsuashvili has participated in several curatorial programmes of the AEJM and presented her museum at the conference. Olga Melasecchi (Rome) and Julie-Marthe Cohen (Amsterdam) support the application.

For: 43 (13 small, 9 medium, 4 large) Against: 3 (1 large) Abstention: 1 (1 small)

The Georgian National Museum was accepted as Institutional Associate Member.

National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah

The new major Italian museum project MEIS in Ferrara has the purpose of transmitting the wealth of knowledge, ideas and testimonies on the presence of Jews in Italy and to reflect on the themes of peace and brotherhood among people and the encounter between culture and religions through the promotion of different activities. The museum is still under development and will open in the next years. Director Simonetta della Seta and chairman Daria Disegni presented the museum at the conference. Vincenza Maugeri (Bologna) and Michela Zanon (Venice) support the application.

For: 39 (12 small, 9 medium, 3 large) Against: 5 (2 small, 1 large) Abstention: 3 (1 large)

The National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah was accepted as Institutional Associate Member.

MiQua Jewish Museum in the Archaeological Zone Cologne

This new museum project is part of a major museum development and is part of a joint project of the City of Cologne and the Rhineland Regional Council. Since 2014 a new team has been working on both, concept and exhibition, that will tell the story of the place and the people who lived here, the story of leadership and everyday life, coexistence, religion and violence. Curator Christiane Twiehaus presented the project at the 2015 Conference in Jerusalem and has also participated in curatorial seminars of the AEJM. Fritz Backhaus () and Johannes Wachten support the application.

For: 43 (13 small, 9 medium, 4 large) Against: Abstention: 3 (1 large)

The MiQua Jewish Museum in the Archaeological Zone Cologne was accepted as Institutional Associate Member.

II. Institutional Associate Membership

Werner Transier

As curator of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer, Transier has worked with the Jewish collection of the museum for many years. Now that he has retired, Transier would like to stay connected to the network of Jewish museums in Europe. He has been attending the Conference for many years. Bernhard Purin (Munich) and Benigna Schönhagen (Augsburg) support his application.

The Board remarked that in the next years the AEJM could expect quite a number of such applications, as different colleagues will retire in the next years.

For: 39 (10 small, 7 medium, 5 large) Against: 2 (2 small) Abstention: 4 (2 small, 1 medium)

Werner Transier was accepted as Individual Associate Member.

III. Upgrade Full Membership

Museum “Jews in Latvia”

The Museum “Jews in Latvia” has been an Institutional Associate Member since 2014. The museum compies with the requirements for Full Membership. In the last years the museum activitely participated in the network by attending both the curatorial and the educational professional development programmes.

For: 44 (14 small, 8 medium, 4 large) Against: 0 Abstention: 5 (1 medium, 1 large)

Museum “Jews in Latvia” was accepted as Full Member.

9. Board Elections Hanno Loewy

This year, Erika Perahia-Zemour (Thessaloniki) will step down as Board Member. She has served the maximum term. Christina Meri, curator of the Jewish Museum of in Athens, has applied to the Board. Her motivation letter had been circulated prior to the General Meeting as part fo the AGM Agenda on October 24. In addition to her written application, the candidate made a public statement in the General Meeting. She has been activitely attending the Conference for many years, as well has participated in a number of editions of the curatorial seminar. Meri could represent smaller institutions, as well as southern-European institutions. She could also contribute to the curatorial professional development opportunities of the AEJM through her own expertise.

Christina Meri was unanimously accepted as new Board member of the AEJM.

10. Board Elections Hanno Loewy

Carmen Alvarez Nogales (Toledo) briefly introduced her institution the Sephardic Museum of Toledo as hosting venue of 2017. Hanno Loewy stated that Zsuzsana Toronyi has offered to host the AEJM in Budapest at the Hungarian Jewish Museum & Archives in 2018.

11. Any Other Business Hanno Loewy

David Glasser (Ben Uri Gallery) announced that nowadays his institution has works by artists from 35 countries from all over the world; please contact him if interested. Hanno Loewy requested all members to promote their exhibitions and projects on the AEJM’s website.

The next Annual General Meeting will take place in Toledo, Spain in November 2017.

LIST OF ATTENDEES AGM Association of European Jewish Museums 2016

NAME INSTITUTION MEMB.

Alkin Edwin Irish Jewish Museum IR Full - s Allovi Nisya Jewish Museum of Turkey TR Full - s Altman-O'Connor Yvonne Irish Jewish Museum IR Full - s Alvarez Nogales Carmen Sephardic Museum Toledo ES Full - m Arbib Jack Museum of Libyan Jews IL Associate Battinou Zanet Jewish Museum of Greece GR Full - s Bencoya Nesim The Izmir Project TR Associate Bergman Eleonora Jewish Historical Institute PL Full - l Bruland Bjarte Jewish Museum Trondheim NO Full - s Cohen Julie-Marthe Jewish Historical Museum NL Full - l Dunczyk-Szulc Anna Jewish Historical Institute PL Full - l Falek Pascale Jewish Museum of Belgium BE Full - m Fried Yael Jewish Museum Stockholm SE Full - s Glasser David Ben Uri Gallery UK Full - s Gogel Sandra Gogel Family Collection FR Associate Guth-Dreyfus Katia CH Honorary Hidveghyova Lucia Bratislava Jewish Community Museum SK Full - s Kaspina Maria Museum of in Russia RU Full - m Knotter Mirjam Jewish Historical Museum NL Full - l Koch Lucja POLIN Museum of the History of Polish JewsPL Full - l Koessling Sabine Jewish Museum Frankfurt DE Full - l Kuncewicz Tomasz Auschwitz Jewish Center PL Full - s Laursen Janne Danish Jewish Museum DK Full - m Loewy Hanno Jewish Museum Hohenems AT Full - m Lohr Otto DE Associate Melasecchi Olga Jewish Museum of Rome IT Full - m Meri Christina Jewish Museum of Greece GR Full - s Perahia-Zemour Erika Jewish Museum Thessaloniki GR Full - s Purin Bernhard Jewish Museum Munich DE Full - m Rosenthal Joanne Jewish Museum London UK Full - m Sarfati Rachel The Israel Museum IL Associate Svantnerova Jana Bratislava Jewish Community Museum SK Full - s Tangestuen Mats Oslo Jewish Museum NO Full - s Transier Werner Historical Museum of the Palatinate DE Full - s Vanek Michal Mueum of Jewish Culture SK Full - m Veselska Magda Jewish Museum in Prague CZ Full - l Wachten Johannes DE Honorary Represented institutions

Auschwitz Jewish Center PL Full - s Ben Uri Gallery UK Full - s Bratislava Jewish Community Museum SK Full - s Danish Jewish Museum DK Full - m Gogel Family Collection FR Associate Historical Museum of the Palatinate DE Full - s Irish Jewish Museum IR Full - s Jewish Historical Institute PL Full - l Jewish Historical Museum NL Full - l Jewish Museum Frankfurt DE Full - l Jewish Museum Hohenems AT Full - m Jewish Museum in Prague CZ Full - l Jewish Museum London UK Full - m Jewish Museum Munich DE Full - m Jewish Museum of Belgium BE Full - m Jewish Museum of Greece GR Full - s Jewish Museum of Rome IT Full - m Jewish Museum of Turkey TR Full - s Jewish Museum Stockholm SE Full - s Jewish Museum Thessaloniki GR Full - s Jewish Museum Trondheim NO Full - s Museum of Jewish Culture SK Full - m Museum of Jewish History in Russia RU Full - m Museum of Libyan Jews IL Associate Oslo Jewish Museum NO Full - s POLIN Museum of the History of Polish JewsPL Full - l Sephardic Museum Toledo ES Full - m The Israel Museum IL Associate The Izmir Project TR Associate