On May 3rd, the exhibition “Josel of Rosheim , between the unique and the universal. A Jew committed to the Europe of his time and of ours”, will be opened in Strasbourg by the Minister and President of the Regional Council, Mr. Philippe Richter, at the Maison de la Région Alsace.

Under the patronage of Mrs. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, deputy General Secretary of the Council of Europe, and the AEPJ, this exhibition will be presented, between 2012 and 2013, in Strasbourg, Sélestat, Haguenau, Colmar and Mulhouse.
It consists of a series of illustrated panels explaining the life and works of Josel of Rosheim, elected representative of all Jews of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation before the towns, princes and emperors, and his historic, intellectual and religious background.
The exhibition is a French-German co-production, and thus also available in German. The German version is currently open to the public in Erfurt, at the Neue Synagoge, and will be the centre of events in several German and German-speaking cities, particularly cities where Josel had been staying.
Part of a continuity of the appreciation of the Jewish culture and heritage in Europe, the exhibition covers a certain geographic space: that of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which after the Middle Ages had received Jews in town and country. It is an area which nowadays is the space of European cooperation on a transnational scale which aims at setting an example among the European regions.
In a historical period of changes, Josel of Rosheim was chosen by the Jews to be their defendant. He was a great politician and thinker, but above all he was a good man, a man for whom ethics were the foundations of his actions, a man who believed in god, but also in mankind.
In our contemporary world, both similar and different, where the construction of a modern Europe is one of our most important tasks, Josel of Rosheim can be a source of inspiration.

From May 3rd to 25th 2012 at the Maison de la Région Alsace, 1, Place Adrien Zeller, Strasbourg. Opening times: from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. Free entrance.