In front of our house, in Rykestrasse in Berlin’s district of Prenzlauer Berg, the biggest synagogue of Germany is located. Although we are accustumed to the situation and activity of the special safety measures all around the synagogue it still feels like a permanent state of exception with which we have arranged ourselves. Two policemen guard the building 24 hours and during services or special events their work is supported by civil Israeli security staff.
To enter the building, a private security company accomplishes additional controls. This might be one reason why hardly anyone that lives around the synagogue was ever inside.
Due to German history the responsibility towards Jewish facilities is of extraordinary importance. In many places the preventive measures reach an extent that isolates Jewish life inevitably from public life.
In the documentary, we show how the Middle East Conflict expresses itself in the everyday life of a place that is far away and supposedly shaped by peace and idyll such as Berlin/Prenzlauer Berg. Our observations in the street before the synagogue create the atmosphere in the film.