leaders during the holocaust

 It's not exactly what we've been talking about today, but I think, that it's a very interesting topic. During Shoah there were many leaders who help Jewish people survive, or at least die with dignity. Some of them, like Mordechaj Anielewicz, Marek Edelman and other leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising decided to lead, because they felt the need to fight the nazis. But there were also official leaders, recognized by Germans, or even collaborating with them.
 The Jewish leader in the Warsaw ghetto was called Adam Czerniakow. He is famous mostly because of the suicide he commited. He didn't support the resistance. His politics was simple: he tried to help people from the ghetto by making their lives as easy as possible. If he had food, he would give it to them, if he could let them rest, he would do it. He was doing everything his people expected him to do.
 A much more interesting person is Chaim Rumkowski, the leader of the Lodz ghetto. He was not a "good" leader, he abused young Jews in his ghetto. His main idea was to become usefull for the Germans, so they won't kill them. He is famous for asking people to give him their children, as the only way to survive. His ego was enormous, he even used money named after him "chaimki". He made Jews work very hard. The people of his ghetto suffered and lived in terror and hunger, but produced much more than other ghettos.
 So which one of them was a better leader? The question seems simple, Jews in Warsaw had easier lives than the Jews in Lodz. From the other side, we can imagine what would happen if the aliants would decide to act earlier. The Lodz ghetto lasted longer than any other polish ghetto, so maybe, just maybe Rumkowski could save many lives. Of course, this does not justify all the "wrong" things he did, but it allows us to see him in a different light.

diaspora - israel

 I think that the relationship between diaspora and Israel is always complicated, but Poland's case is even more. Our country can be called the center of Holocaust, and many people emigrated because of it to Israel.
 Polish jews don't like Israelis' attitude towards us. Young Israelis often ask us "Why are you still here?"  and "Why didn't you come to Israel?". They can't understand that we belong to this country, we're both Jewish and Polish and we don't have why to leave.
 From the other side, Polish Jews are very critical towards Israel's political actions. We think they are too agressive. Of course we understand the reasons and when we talk with goys we defend the Holy Land, but our political views are not always pro-Israeli.
 Besides this Polish Jews like Israel. It's difficult not to like such a hot, beautiful country with sandy beaches and amazing food. We LOVE modern Israeli cuisine, we prefer it to the food which eastern European Jews ate. We also like the fact, that there are so many other Jews in Israel. After all, almost 90% of the Polish population considers themselfs christian.
 The relationship between Israel and the Polish diaspora is complicated, but after all I think we like each other.

my movie club

 My project idea came to me very soon. I love cinema, so I decided to create a movie club for young Jews. There are quite a few movie clubs in Warsaw, but I haven't heard about a Jewish one! My youth movements sometimes organises film screenings, but it's not regular and the movies aren't jewish. We also don't discuss the films we've seen.

 I talked with my mentor, and she said that probably we'll be able to organise the club in an apartment belonging to the jewish community on Aleje Jerozolimskie street. I hope that it'll be possible, because it's a very big apartment in the centre of Warsaw.

 I want to show my friends movies I particularily like. There are many documentaries and other films about the Holocaust, Israel, jewish culture and many other things. Young Jews in Warsaw know a lot about our history, so I think the discussions after the screenings will be inspiring.

Some movies that we could watch together:

„The Pianist”

„Schindler's List”

„Life is beautiful”

„Inglourious Basterds”

„8 stories that haven't changed the world”

„Inheritance” (a movie about the daughter of Amon Goeth)

„Shoah”

Yael Bartana's movies

a revolution in a café

In a brand new community I wouldn't build a jewish kindergarden, nor a synagogue... I would build a big café with a room for a small cinema and a room in which wise men could talk about the future of our community. I think jewish children can go to school with all the others, but they can come to the jewish café each sunday to learn about the jewish holidays and traditions. I believe, that if I can build only one building, a café would be the best one, both cultural and educational needs. Of course it could be kosher! It would serve traditional jewish dishes, as well as food from modern Israeli cuisine. It would be goy-friendly. As Tadeusz Kantor said: “Each artistic revolution began in a café”. And if I want to start a new community I certainly need a revolution.

my mentor

 It's very difficult to say what I want to get out of the mentoring. I was thinking about it quite a lot recently. I have a few ideas and problems to discuss.

 My ideas are strongly connected with the person I've chosen. Her name is Anna and she is the chairperson of my youth movement. It was obvious that I'll choose her: she is an amazing person with a lot of experience in working in the jewish community. She's got a lot of energy and faith to make her ideas happen, but I also appreciate that she can be very critical. I wouldn't like to have a naïve mentor.

 I would like to learn from her more about my community: starting from the basic information, like the role and duties of each person, up to gossips about our plans! I also hope that she'll explain me all the secrets of fundraising. It would be also nice if she'ld introduce me to some people: not necessarily leaders, but also other people who make my community work. In a perfect world by the end of the mentoring she will have shown me how can I make my ideas happen and she will have given me some new ideas. And I strongly believe, that this aspect, this world can be perfect:)

all about london

 The London seminar was a great exprerience! I met a lot of new people and discovered the fascinating life of the Jewish community of London. Each day we had many activities which helped us understand what being a good leader means. All of them were inspiring and very different one from another. We talked with many amazing people, from M.P.s to a Jewish rapper!

 I enjoyed visiting the Moishe House. I spend much time in the Moishe House Warsaw and the events they do in London were very inspiring. Dancing in darkness sounds exiting! I also admire the work of the companies gathered in the JHub. I learned much about leadership from talking with the people from the youth movements. Still, the most inspiring people were our madrichim – Shir, Theo, Corinne and Joe. This trip wouldn’t be so amazing without them. They also were the perfect example of leaders we want to become.

 The thing I want to share with my community is the Mitzvah Day. I like the way it unites goys and different kinds of Jews, like reformed and orthodox. The Jewish community of Warsaw is like a big family (two big families, actually) and I think the Mitzvah Day would work very well here. The experience I find the less useful was the Three Faiths Forum. I know it’s important to get to know other cultures, and I don’t think it taught me anything new. Still, it was nice to listen to these people and their stories.

 Before the seminar I didn’t really consider myself as a part of the Jewish community. Of course, I am active in my youth movement and I spend a lot of time with my Jewish friends, but I was very critical towards the most active adults in the community. The seminar changed my point of view. Now I understand, that I  can influence the situation in the community. Of course not alone and not now, but in a few years my youth movement and I can do it. After all, we are the future.

my personal dna

I did my personal dna test today! This is what I found out:

I’m a reserved artist. I would rather seek out new experiences than stick to my everyday habits, taking in as much of the world as possible. I prefer to think about things before voicing your opinion, considering a wide, diverse range of options. I am curious about things, interested in the "why" more than the “how.” I’m not one to force my positions on a group, and I tend to be fair in evaluating different options.  I’m not someone who always needs to have others around, and I find I can handle most situations on my own. I find it difficult to understand why some people get so emotional and tell everyone else their problems (I think 80% of people doesn’t care about your problems). Despite my independence, I am not a closed-minded person who makes hasty judgments about others. I know that it isn't always easy to walk in other people's shoes. My vision of the world is complex – my values are not set in stone. Instead, I am able to change my beliefs as I learn new information. These are my strenths. My greatest weakness is beeing too shy. I think being this independent can be a weakness, if I’ll be a leader – a true leader should trust others and depend on his people in order to help his community grow.

the jewish community of warsaw

 The Jewish community of Warsaw is in a very difficult situation. From one side it suffered in the Holocaust, there were many concentration camps in Poland. In 1939 31% of the population of Warsaw was Jewish. During the war most of them died, and some decided not to be Jewish anymore. The people who had most chances to survive the Holocaust were not orthodox Jews, who spoke polish and were well-educated. Some polish Jews are still afraid of anti-Semitism and are hiding and some of them don’t even know that they’re Jewish.

 From the other side Poland is not the best country for Jews. It is often said that it’s the most anti-Semitic European country, (in a survey from 2010 27% of Poles declared anthypathy towards Jews). The Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich (who was attacked in 2006 by a neo-Nazi) said that it is a “false and painful stereotype that all Poles are antisemitic. (…) Today there is antisemitism in Poland, as unfortunately the rest of Europe; it is more or less at the same level as the rest of Europe. More important is that you have a growing number of Poles who oppose antisemitism”.

 There are nine communities in the the Jewish Communities Union of Poland, the Jewish Community of Warsaw is the biggest one. It associates over 500 members, which don’t have to be orthodox Jews – having one Jewish grandparent is enough to be part of the community. It was reactivated in 1997. It offers various cultural events and classes for it’s members and for other people. Most of Warsaw’s synagogues were destroyed during the war, now all the important events take place in the Nożyk Synagogue on Twarda street. Next to the synagogue there are buildings belonging to the community with a kosher shop and restaurant and a Jewish theatre (which is not a very good theatre…).

 We also have a Lauder school and kindergarden and a very beautiful cementary. The reformed jewish community is much smaller, the Beit Warszawa synagogue has approximately 300 “friends”. They have Shabbats each week, but it’s less impressive than the orthodox community. Both communities have rabbis form America.

 The best Polish Jewish Youth Movement is ZOOM (Żydowska Ogólnopolska Organizacja Młodzieżowa). Here are some informations from our website:

Polish Jewish Youth Organization associates young Jews living in Poland. We are open to people coming from different backgrounds, and everyone will be welcomed regardless of their views of history or their walk of life. We aspire to involve all of the Jewish youth into the life of the community. We would like to create truly inclusive framework of Jewish life; one that would bring together all of the people, who are willing to participate. We put our vision into practice by organizing summer and winter camps and other seminars. We celebrate holidays together; we participate in all the important events of communal life. We do not separate ourselves from the outside world – we offer open lectures and promote artistic and cultural activities of our members, which are often directed to the broad, non – Jewish audience. Everything that unites Jewish community is important to us – we are up to date with the life of the diaspora and the State of Israel, we follow the discussions in religious life and in the interpretation of the Jewish history. We also take part in public events, festivals and city-wide
activities. We promote individual projects of our members. Throughout our activities, we build a community that is able to respond to the challenges of external world as well as to the needs and needs of our members.

 It’s entirely true! I hope that one day ZOOM will get even bigger and more important and we’ll have a more important role in the Jewish life of Warsaw. I think the community needs more young blood and we’re on the best way to make it happen.

the jewish museum

This blog will be about the future leaders programme organised by ORT world.
The first seminar began on sunday. Yesterday (monday) we had some team-building activities in mud and with leaders from many english Youth Movements. After dinner Eyal Dagan from Israel Government Ministery of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs told us about Israel. Today we visited the jewish museum. I found it very interesting! I really liked the beautiful tallit bag a jew from Casablanca brought to London and the medieval mikveh. We also saw Camden and ate pizza in the garden. It was fun.