The German-Israeli Society (DIG) was founded on 21 March 1966. To mark the 60th anniversary of the federation’s founding, the DIG working group Cologne invites you to a commemorative lecture by Dr Martin Kloke in the community hall of the Cologne Synagogue Community. Dr Kloke is responsible for the commemorative publication marking 60 years of the DIG.
The President of the German-Israeli Society, the Chair of the Synagogue Community and the Mayor of Cologne, Torsten Burmester, will deliver welcoming addresses at the event. Following the lecture, the German-Israeli Society invites guests to a reception.
60 Years German-Israeli Society
It happened on 21 March 1966 at the Federal Parliament in Bonn: behind closed doors, 50 committed individuals from the realms of politics, churches and trade unions founded the German-Israeli Society (DIG). Today, the friendship society has more than 9,000 members across more than 55 regional working groups and registered associations.
How is the history of the DIG interwoven with significant developments in Israel, the Middle East and Germany? Can a nuanced examination of the association’s history yield insights into the future of German-Israeli relations?
In 2025, Dr Martin Kloke became the first researcher to be granted unrestricted access to the DIG archives. Against this backdrop, he will report on the milestones and challenges of the DIG – from the close perspective of an insider and, at the same time, from the detached viewpoint of an analyst.
Dr Martin Kloke is a political scientist, educational media consultant and publicist based in Berlin. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Giessen in 1989 with a thesis on “Israel and the German Left: On the History of a Difficult Relationship”. After working as a research assistant at the Otto Benecke Foundation in Bonn and as an ethics editor at Volk und Wissen Verlag in Berlin, he was employed by Cornelsen Verlag until 2025. Kloke has been researching the history of German-Israeli relations for many years and has published numerous articles on the subject.
Please register until 1 May 2026. The event will be held in German.
| Date / time | 6 May 2026, 7 to 9 pm |
| Venue | Community Hall, Roonstraße 50, 50764 Cologne |
| Hosts | DIG Working Group Cologne & Cologne Synagogue Community |