Prof. Walter Homolka is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

.

He studied in Munich, London, Lampeter and Leipzig and has a PhD from King's College London

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

. He is an adjunct full professor at University of Potsdam

University of Potsdam

The University of Potsdam is a German university, situated across four campuses in Potsdam, Brandenburg, including the New Palace of Sanssouci and the Park Babelsberg.- Profile :...

 and rector at its Abraham Geiger

Abraham Geiger

Abraham Geiger was a German rabbi and scholar who led the founding of Reform Judaism...

 College, Germany's only rabbinical seminary which was founded in 1999 and ordained the first three rabbis since the Shoa in Germany on 14 September 2006 (at the New Synagogue of Dresden). Rabbi Homolka is Chairman of the Leo Baeck Foundation and an Executive Board member of the World Union for Progressive Judaism

World Union for Progressive Judaism

The World Union for Progressive Judaism describes itself as the "international umbrella organization for the Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist movements." This overall Jewish religious movement is based in about 40 countries with more than 1,000 affiliated synagogues...

.

In 2007, he established the Jewish Institute of Cantorial Arts

Hazzan

A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...

, 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

Hebrew Union College

The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...

 - Jewish Institute of Religion conferred upon him a "Doctor Humanarum Litterarum" honoris causa.

Rabbi Homolka is active in Jewish-Christian dialogue as a guest at the Central Committee of German Catholics

Central Committee of German Catholics

The Central Committee of German Catholics is lay body comprising representatives of various Catholic organisations in Germany. They organise the Catholic Days in Germany. The organisation is headquartered in Bonn....

. In 2008, he condemned the new Good Friday Prayer

Good Friday Prayer

The Good Friday Prayer for the Jews is an annual prayer in the Christian, particularly Roman Catholic, liturgy. It is one of several petitions made on Good Friday in the Catholic service.- Background:...

 instituted by Pope Benedict XVI.

External links

• http://www.whomolka.de/