Archive for May, 2008

‘I married the Berlin Wall’

Miscellaneous: May 28th, 2008 by JS

Anyone with a mere smattering of German can see where Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer got her name from. But the 54-year-old Swede is not just named after the Berlin Wall, she reckons that she is married to it.

The woman, from a village in northern Sweden, has been well-known in her home country for some time, but a documentary about her presented at the Berlin Biennial means her odd story is gaining international attention.

Mrs Berliner-Mauer was diagnosed back in 1979 with a condition called Objectum Sexuality. People with this condition find inanimate objects sexually attractive.

The Daily Telegraph quotes Berliner-Mauer as saying:

“I find long, slim things with horizontal lines very sexy.

“The Great Wall of China’s attractive, but he’s too thick – my husband is sexier.” She described the tearing down of the wall as a mutilation of her “husband,” whom she married in a ceremony in 1979. More mind boggling is the fact that she claims to have a great sex life with the object of her desires.

A visit to Berliner-Mauer’s odd but well-maintained website is highly recommended.

Germany’s thriving Jewish community – a threat to Israel?

Berlin, International, Religion: May 15th, 2008 by JS

Germany’s Jewish community is being seen as a growing threat – not by Germans, but by Israelis, according to a report by Harry de Quetteville in the Daily Telegraph.

In 2005, more Jewish people moved to Germany than to Israel. Indeed, many of the Jews moving to Germany were actually born in Israel. For some Israelis, this threatens the very foundations of the Jewish state.

With a Jewish renaissance, even in places where it was nearly erased by the Holocaust, they say Zionism’s raison d’etre is being challenged.

“Israel is in a really difficult position with immigration now, because people ask ‘what is the role of Zionism today?’,” said Rabbi Homolka, principal of the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin.

“The Jewish community in Berlin makes the argument that it is valid to stay here, in Germany.”