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Last update - 10:52 17/07/2007 A new Poland, a new paradigm By Tad Taube The troubled relationship between Jews and Poland - burdened by historical anti-Semitism and events of the Holocaust - is at a potentially positive turning point. Ironically, it has fallen on Israel to join in leading the way forward. That presents difficulties for Israel, since much of the worst Nazi brutality toward Jews during the Holocaust took place on Polish soil. Despite the bravery and decency of Poles who sought to protect Jews, some Poles succumbed to overt or passive cooperation with the Nazi killing machine. More than sixty years later, the Holocaust's extraordinary trauma still weighs heavily on Israeli Jews - citizens of a nation that rose phoenix-like out of the ashes of the Holocaust - and the pain, anger and mistrust cut particularly deep. Advertisement Some 25,000 Israeli teens visit Poland each year to tour sites of the former Nazi extermination camps and to learn more about Poland's extensive pre-war Jewish history. Unfortunately, the Polish media, including the respected Przekroj newspaper, report increased instances of the teens' misbehavior, including trashing hotel rooms and other acts of vandalism. The reports also say that some of the teens' Israeli security guards routinely show disrespect toward their Polish hosts, preventing Poles and Israelis from interacting. Similar events have occurred in the past, but the Polish media has largely downplayed them out of fear of being accused of anti-Semitism. The current situation has had a detrimental effect on diplomatic relations between Poland and Israel. Israel's ambassador in Warsaw, David Peleg, warned that "the relationship between Israel and Poland is strained." Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska, Poland's ambassador to Israel, said, "For some of the kids, the pressure is too high, going from one death camp to another. Some express their anger and sorrow in the way they behave." Individual responsibility and accountability for inappropriate actions even by immature teens must not be condoned. Moreover, security guards are adults and if they act inappropriately they should be removed. For its part, the Polish government has reacted to its citizens' concern with calm and moderation. It is now negotiating an agreement with Israeli representatives to officially raise the operating standards for Israeli groups in Poland; but if a true change is to take hold, existing Jewish attitudes toward Poland must also change. Indeed, Poland today is a far cry from the Poland of World War II. Jewish life in Poland is experiencing a rebirth - modest, perhaps, when compared to pre-Holocaust Jewish life, when Poland's Jewish population was 3 million, but significant nonetheless. Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and Wroclaw all boast newly thriving Jewish communities. Polish universities have steadily increased Jewish studies programs and the government has set aside $27 million to fund the new $80 million museum in Warsaw to document Jewish history and culture in Poland. A growing list of Jewish writers is being translated into Polish and Krakow's annual Jewish culture festival attracts 20,000 or more. On the diplomatic front, ties between Poland and Israel have never been stronger. Poland was the second ex-Soviet bloc nation to re-establish official relations with the Jewish state. Military ties between the two nations have also solidified, as have investments and other private business endeavors. Israeli diplomats readily acknowledge that Poland is the most pro-Israeli country in the European Union. Poland, as its president, Lech Kaczynski, has said, is today "a friend of Israel." This good will is largely shared by Polish civil society. Poland has few anti-Israeli hecklers, slanderous media, or boycott organizers. Shock and outrage over a recent neo-Nazi demonstration in Krakow was expressed not only by Jewish tourists who were subject to anti-Semitic and anti-Israel slurs, but also by many Poles, who staged a spontaneous counter-demonstration. Programs which sponsor Israeli teen visits to Poland, such as March of the Living, need to have their emphasis reordered to focus much less on death in Nazi-operated extermination camps and much more on 800 years of Jewish history and culture. None of what I write should be misunderstood as a declaration that anti-Semitism has been completely eradicated in Poland. It remains a reality, but where is it not? More to the point is official Poland's attempts to come to grips with its history and make amends to the extent possible. The horrors of the Holocaust cannot be overlooked or minimized. At the same time, life must move forward. It is time for Jews - Israelis in particular - to be open to Poland's desire for reconciliation and friendship. It is not enough to feed Israeli youth a steady diet of death, destruction, and historical anti-Semitism. Israel's educational leaders and March of the Living organizers need to incorporate the new Poland into their thinking. Tad Taube is the founder of the Jewish Heritage Initiative in Poland, which supports the renewal of Jewish cultural life in Poland, and connects American Jews, two-thirds of whom are of Polish decent, with their heritage. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Animated massacre Animated Israeli film at Cannes explores Sabra and Shatila massacre. Kowtowing to funders When papers are sponsored, can their reporting be truly independent?   1.   Israeli Teens Shouldn`t Visit Poland At All 11:16  |  Yishai Kohen 17/07/07   2.   Yishai 12:40  |  Chris 17/07/07   3.   Chris 13:15  |  Yishai Kohen 17/07/07   4.   Yishai 13:53  |  Chris 17/07/07   5.   Yishai, you`re so very wrong 13:54  |  Not the mad Hannah 17/07/07   6.   chris 14:27  |  sweis Melbourne 17/07/07   7.   4,5, and 6 14:51  |  Yishai Kohen 17/07/07   8.   A New Poland 15:26  |  Alex Berger 17/07/07   9.   me (secong generation) and poland 15:29  |  luis 17/07/07   10.   `thriving Jewish communities` 16:53  |  Eli 17/07/07   11.   New Poland? 16:54  |  David Gershon 17/07/07   12.   Yeah, let`s forget about all the historical Polish antisemitism- 17:19  |  survivor of PODZAMCE 17/07/07   13.   Yishai 17:20  |  Chris 17/07/07   14.   What new Poland? It`s the usual BS pushed by a liberal PC crowd. 17:29  |  remember Kielce 17/07/07   15.   8 and others 17:35  |  Mark 17/07/07   16.   Yishai 17:36  |  Hannah 17/07/07   17.   #10 can be there a better example of an ignorant? 17:47  |  Chris 17/07/07   18.   To Yishai Cohen 17:49  |  Nicole 17/07/07   19.   TO YISHAI 17:51  |  Nicole 17/07/07   20.   Read "Fear" by Jan Gross 18:43  |  joe 17/07/07   21.   Mark from Chicago 20:21  |  Alex Berger 17/07/07   22.   #1,Yishai: "religious prohibition of leaving the land of Israel"? 20:35  |  Avi 17/07/07   23.   let`s just pretend the shoah never happened so we don`t offend 21:08  |  Jon 17/07/07   24.   Alex 22:25  |  Chris 17/07/07   25.   The "new" Poland & its Priest Tadeusz Rydzyk, head of Radio Maryj 22:26  |  common sense 17/07/07   26.   Time for Chris to start learning the "unvarnished" facts... 22:55  |  bat yam 17/07/07   27.   #6 Sweis 23:00  |  Chris 17/07/07   28.   Article "A New Poland" 23:16  |  Jehuda Evron 17/07/07   29.   Alex Berger from NY 00:28  |  Mark 18/07/07   30.   #28, of course you wrong 00:44  |  Mark 18/07/07   31.   #20 joe from USA. Do you belive every book? 01:27  |  Mark 18/07/07   32.   Alex Berger - What do you think about this? 04:55  |  taboo 18/07/07   33.   New Poland 05:24  |  Andrew Starostecki 18/07/07   34.   #12 No, let`s teach about your antipolonism&other Jews like you 06:23  |  taboo 18/07/07   35.   Do everything in the right time 11:48  |  Anna 18/07/07   36.   Anna, good point 13:13  |  Chris 18/07/07   37.   NEW TIME 18:49  |  lea 18/07/07   38.   Never forget! www.polandinjustice.com 12:13  |  Child of survivor 19/07/07   39.   Poles antisemitic??? 15:59  |  asia 19/07/07   40.   Not only Poles 16:04  |  AMS 19/07/07   41.   Teens visiting WWII Death Camp 16:23  |  A.S 19/07/07   42.   Visiting Poland - a Mitzvah 17:25  |  Yosef 19/07/07   43.   Visiting Poalnd - a Mitzvah, 2 17:31  |  Yosef 19/07/07   44.   Visiting Poland - a Mitzvah, 3 17:35  |  Yosef 19/07/07   45.   #38 Your story doesn`t match 18:18  |  Mark 19/07/07   46.   # 38, Your story doesn`t match #2 18:36  |  Mark 19/07/07   47.   #38, Your story doesn`t mach #3 05:32  |  Mark 20/07/07   48.   #38, Your story doesn`t mach #4 06:32  |  Mark 20/07/07   49.   polish antisemitizm 13:34  |  aharon eshed 20/07/07   50.   #20 Read Korbonski`s The Jews and the Poles in WWII" 16:10  |  mark 20/07/07   51.   The great tragedy of Jews is 16:19  |  mark sajnacki 20/07/07   52.   some Jews should not visit Poland 22:53  |  AM 20/07/07   53.   What hypocrysy!!!! 07:20  |  Baba 21/07/07   54.   polish antisemitism 07:42  |  Amy 22/07/07   55.   Time to reconcile is NOW 22:46  |  Jan Czarniecki 22/07/07   56.   Righteous 22:49  |  Jan Czarniecki 22/07/07   57.   Alex Berger`s post 18:59  |  Danusha Goska 26/07/07   58.   Reconcile 06:01  |  Andy 31/07/07   59.   Jewish view points 23:06  |  Beth 01/08/07   60.   Polish Friendship Yields American Aid 09:33  |  SB 06/08/07   61.   Just some thoughts 07:20  |  Stereotype 20/01/08   62.   Just some thoughts 08:31  |  Stereotype 20/01/08   63.   Just some thoughts 08:48  |  Stereotype 20/01/08   64.   Just some thoughts 09:15  |  Stereotype 20/01/08   65.   A new Poland 16:51  |  Antisemitism 16/05/08

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