Jews in Poland have formally requested the new Polish regime to take urgent action against growing anti-Semitism in the country, it was learned here today from official sources. They also formally demanded that the new regime of Wladyslaw Gomulka allow emigration to Israel without restrictions, as well as closer contacts with Jewish groups abroad.
The requests were voiced in resolutions adopted at a conference of the Cultural Social Association of Polish Jewry, held in Warsaw and published in the Yiddish presser there. The resolutions were also broadcast in Yiddish over the Warsaw radio and their text was confirmed by diplomatic circles.
Criticism was voiced in the resolutions of both the old and the new Communist regimes in Poland. The conference of the Association indicated anxiety after examining the new situation in the country. “In this situation,” the resolution stated, “particular anxiety is felt by the Jewish communal leaders because the leadership of the party and the government have so far failed publicly to assume a clear-cut attitude toward the recurring anti-Semitic incidents, manifestations and discrimination.”
(The New York Times, in a cable from Warsaw reported yesterday that “Poland’s Jewish communities are again living through anxious days,” and that the Gomuha revolution released latent forces and gave free rein to anti-Semitism.” The cable says that party newspapers and members of the Communist party leadership “have sought to curb the anti-Semites, but to little avail,”)
While the resolution of the Jewish association went on record as welcoming “Socialist democratization” in Poland, alarm was expressed by the Jews that the transition period has brought “the growth of irresponsible demagogy on the part of various elements, with manifestations of chauvinism and anti-Semitism.”
DECIDE TO SEEK WIDER CONTACT WITH JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS ABROAD
The resolution charged that the Jewish cultural work in Poland, although receiving sympathetic support from the government, has not been imbued with the kind of a spirit “which fully reflects the cultural needs and national-feelings of the Jews.” It criticized the fact that the teaching of Jewish history has practically been eliminated from the curriculum in Jewish schools, and that “none of the Jewish holidays have received recognition” in these schools.
The resolution regretted the fact that organized Polish Jewry has not succeeded in establishing better contact with Jewish organizations abroad. It called for the establishment” of “stable forms of cooperation” with Jewish groups in other countries.
At the same time, the resolution condemned “the killing of national, cultural and social life of the Jews in the Soviet Union.” It expressed the “hope that the Soviet Government will solve this tragic problem in conformity with the principles of Lenin’s policy on nationalities, by rebuilding the Jewish social and cultural institutions.”
The resolution obviously went as far as it could in supporting Israel, while retaining a modicum of adherence to the Communist party line. It expressed “sorrow” that Israel “allowed itself to be used by the British and French imperialists.” But it called for the recognition of “Israel’s full right to receive real guarantees from the United Nations to lead a normal existence as an independent and sovereign state.” Consideration of Israel “as a historical fact” was asked, and sympathy was expressed for Israelis and for the development of the Jewish State.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
