Urge Establishment of Chair for Teaching History of Polish Jewry

Two prominent Jewish personalities called for the establishment of a Chair for research and teaching of the history of Polish Jewry at Tel Aviv University and noted the incongruity in the awarding of Nobel Prizes last month to two former polish Jews–Premier Menachem Begin of Israel and Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. This was pointed out by Yehuda Blum, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, and Rabbi Alexander Schindler president of the Federation of Polish Jews in the United States and chairman of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations,

Addressing a conference of the Federation Schindler said that Begin and Singer were being honored “at a time when Polish Jewry, because of the savagery of anti-Semitic monsters, no longer exists.” He said it was incongruous that they were being honored by world in which that a single academic facility exists for a definitive study of the history and accomplishments of Polish Jewry.

Blum and Schindler stressed the need for our rent and future generations of Jews to know more about the history of the Jewish people so that the tragedies which have befallen them, particularly those in the “enlightened” 20th Century, would never be forgotten. The conference decided to establish a Chair for the Research and Teaching of the History of Polish Jewry at the Tel Aviv University ‘s Institute of Jewish Studies at a cost of $1 million, The Federation pledged itself to raise $500,000 towards that sum.

PROGRAM OF ACTION

The conference adopted a program of action to be pursued in relation to the government of Poland; restitution for all Jewish public properties and institutions which were left behind; the transference to the Federation of all documents and archives relating to the cultural accomplishments of Polish Jewry.

Also, payments of pensions and social security to Jews who left Poland and who are entitled to those funds under international law; transference to Jewish institutions outside Poland all Jewish artifacts and ritual materials taken from museums and synagogues; and proper maintenance of the Jewish cemeteries still in existence in Poland.

Many of the 300 delegates at the conference spoke bitterly about the failure of the Polish government to live up to past promises on these matters. It was announced that 30 Federation members plan to go to Israel in February to participate in the international conference of the World Federation of Polish Jews-Schindler was re-elected Federation president.