The German state of Saxony-Anhalt has appointed Rabbi Daniel Fabian as its first police rabbi.
Fabian, who is currently Saxony-Anhalt’s state rabbi, will be responsible for overseeing “institutionalized cooperation” between the state police and Jewish community organizations, Juedische Allgemeine reported.
The appointment creates a “completely new chapter in the form of permanent institutionalized cooperation between the state police and the state association of Jewish communities,” Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang said.
The agreement was signed in the Halle synagogue by Zieschang and the President of the Jewish Community in Halle Max Privorozki.
Saxony-Anhalt becomes the second German state to have an official police rabbi after Baden-Württemberg.
Rabbi Fabian said that his appointment is a “big step towards the normalization of Jewish life in Saxony-Anhalt” with the job entailing pastoral services for police officers along with teaching at the Police University of Applied Sciences in Aschersleben. Police training will focus on combating antisemitism.