On a Saturday afternoon, freshly brewed coffee fills the air at Salvatorplatz, a small square between an Orthodox church and the Literaturhaus in Munich. Ariella Chmiel and Daniel Gitbud stand at an improvised mobile booth, offering free coffee to passersby. After double-blinking at the sign “Coffee with a Jew,” people stop.
On the table, next to the coffee machine, lies what appears to be a card game, but on a closer look, questions on the cards yearn for something more substantive: “Are all Jews rich?” “Can I say, ‘Jude’?” “Can I criticize Israel without being anti-Semitic?” For those who don’t dare to ask straight away – but might have some preconceptions – these questions should break the ice and spark an honest conversation about Jewish life. There is just one rule: you have to want to hear the answers. You have to take that with you.
“We ask people to talk to us, not about us,” says Daniel Gitbud. Along with Ariella Chmiel, he runs the B’nai-B’rith-Loge association in Munich, which developed the Coffee with a Jew initiative.
In Upper Bavaria, including Munich, there are almost 10,000 members of the Jewish Community Centre (0.2% of the total population without counting Jews who are non-members). This low number makes spontaneous encounters with a Jewish person outside institutional settings quite rare. “It’s clear we need to find a bold way to invite the over 1.5 million city residents to talk to us,” Gitbud smiles. With humor, he adds, “I can’t just walk up to Munich’s main Jewish community center and say: ‘Please send me a Jew; I want to meet one.’ We need to create another platform for connection.”

The mobile coffee shop pops up at various locations around Munich, creating a safe, accessible space for conversations in the middle of urban society. The initiative does not hope to persuade people. It just expects them to ask questions that are far too often left unspoken out of people’s fear of saying the wrong thing, or they have already found answers in unfounded prejudgments simply because people can’t find a suitable conversation partner.
Far too little is still known about Judaism or Jewish life. Unlike, for instance, in New York, exposure to Jewish culture or life in Munich is primarily limited to the fortified walls of a community center, synagogue, and museum, all under police protection. “Security is, of course, a significant factor. We, however, want to show people that there is much more to us. It is our goal to make Jewish life accessible,” claims Gitbud.
Chmiel and Gitbud, who grew up in Munich, explain that Jewish life in Germany exists alongside the broader society rather than within a symbiotic relationship. “We [Germans] have a tense approach to the issue due to history. History is a significant part of living together and remembering, especially now, 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz. Although the Holocaust is a crucial part of our history, it does not solely define our Jewish identity,” Chmiel emphasizes.
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The high inhibition threshold and the incredible amount of uncertainty in all interactions with Jews short-circuits the debate to fight anti-semitism. “If we keep dancing around each other, afraid to make mistakes — where one side thinks it’s: ‘It’s better to stick to each other and not overexpose ourselves,’ and the others say: ‘Mirf, you always have to be careful what you say to them,’ — then we won’t get anywhere,” laments Chmiel, echoing Gitbud’s sentiments.
People could start with simple questions: Are you from this city? Did you study at this university or elsewhere? — questions central to the mission of Gitbud and Chmiel’s initiative. They provide answers that don’t define them as being part of a group but as individuals. “We happen to be Jews, but not only Jews. I’m also a barista and an entrepreneur. I do have hobbies and all sorts of things. I’m never just one.”
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The events of October 7th and the war in Gaza have made it difficult for many people to distinguish between Judaism, Israel, and Israeli politics. I asked Gitbud and Chmiel if it was possible to have a conversation without involving politics. They believe it still is. “That is why there are a few historical and factual questions that we explain and show at the coffee stand,” explains Gitbud.
“Are all Jews Israelis, or are all Israelis Jews? Is Judaism tied to ethnic or religious identity? It is all a bit complex and difficult to understand sometimes,” he says. This information gap has led people to piece together theories and take positions with the prejudice they do have.
Therefore, dialogue is crucial to “shake up” the cliches and fill a void in our society that otherwise is filled by stereotypical images and conspiracy theories that underpin discourse on young Jews. “Racism and other prejudices often stem from fear of the unfamiliar,” says Chmiel. What I know no longer feels threatening. Whether it’s about getting to know a person, learning more about Judaism, understanding the relationship between Israel and Judaism, or simply connecting with someone new and thinking, “Okay, now I see things a little differently, or that was a nice encounter,” Gitbud explains. Achieving such positive exchanges would be a significant success for the initiative.
Gitbud and Chmiel’s generation aims to represent a young and diverse Judaism in all its complexity. In Germany, this diversity is often overlooked or almost invisible due to the small number of people with Jewish faith. “Since school, we’ve talked so much about deceased Jews. Without forgetting our history, let’s focus on the Jews who are living here today,” says Gitbud.
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He explains that part of their initiative’s leitmotif is “Tikun Olam,” which means “repairing the world” in Hebrew. This concept is an essential aspect of Judaism, emphasizing making the world a better place through small acts of kindness—a mitzvah. For example, this could be as simple as helping an older person cross the street.
Gitbud and Chmiel have designed their initiative to be present in various public spaces throughout the city. So far, the positive experiences they’ve encountered outweigh the negative ones. Depending on the location in Munich, they meet a varied population, including people of different ages, tourists, students, and immigrant workers. “We are often met with great interest and sometimes even genuine gratitude. People appreciate and feel happy about the opportunity to talk to us,” says Chmiel.
I also enjoyed our conversation, which coincidentally occurred between my visits to two Israeli restaurants over the last two months. My recommendation: Don’t just stop at coffee; consider sharing a complete meal with a Jew.