Union's Gift of Lights
Support for the Jewish Campus

Since June 2023, the Pears Jewish Campus (PJC) in Berlin Wilmersdorf has been open to people of all faiths and, in addition to a daycare centre, primary school and secondary school, also houses art and music studios, a cinema, a sports and event hall and an outdoor sports facility. Yehuda Teichtal, chairman of the Chabad Berlin Jewish community and initiator of the project, spoke of a ‘beacon of tolerance’ at the opening event.
A good year before the opening ceremony, in April 2022, Union president Dirk Zingler visited the campus construction site for the first time at the invitation of Yehuda Teichtal. ‘Creating a place like this, which is aimed at everyone with its offers and at the same time is a centre of Jewish life in our city, made a deep impression on me and I offered Rabbi Teichtal our support’.
1. FC Union Berlin therefore took on the request for lighting for the sports facility on the campus so that it can be used all year round.
‘Giving the children lights so that they can play football together on the pitch at any time of day was very important to us. Football unites people. This is something to be preserved and promoted,’ said Union president Dirk Zingler at the official handover of the lighting system last Thursday. ‘It's great to be here today and see how much fun the children are having.’
The 100 or so children who had gathered at the sports ground despite the rainy winter weather also enjoyed meeting the professional players of 1. FC Union Berlin. In a game of four against four, some of the senior students were able to compete with Naika Reissner, Sarah Hornschuch, Leopold Querfeld and Tim Skarke, while being loudly cheered on by their fellow students. Afterwards, there was of course an autograph session and time for group photos.
Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal expressed his heartfelt thanks for the support: ‘Union has given us lights so that we can always use this beautiful space here. Whether it's for sports lessons, during school breaks, or in the afternoons and at the weekend.’
The wish for lights on the campus was fulfilled by Union in cooperation with their long-standing partner M4Energy eG. Four eight-metre-high solar lights were installed on the sports grounds and four more lights were installed to illuminate the campus, which are also solar powered.