Representatives of the Jewish Religious Community in Bielsko-Biała say that the last such incident took place in 1939, when Nazis entered the Bielsko synagogue, set it on fire and planted explosives.
The Jewish Religious Community, a branch of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews, and the Municipal Cultural Center “Kubiszówka” organized a concert of Jewish songs on May 21st to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel. The concert took place at the seat of the Community, which includes a prayer room. It was financed entirely from the funds of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland.
During the concert, the artists from “Kubiszówka” performed songs from the musical “Once Upon a Time in Bielitz”, which tells the story of the multicultural history of the city, of the times when different nationalities, languages and religions coexisted in harmony in Bielsko. The program also included songs with lyrics by Julian Tuwim and compositions by Zygmunt Konieczny.
The event was disrupted by a group of people with Palestinian flags.
The concert was attended by, among others, Holocaust survivors. The events at the Jewish Religious Community are open to anyone interested and have always been held in a friendly atmosphere. This time, however, it was different. A group of people with Palestinian flags arrived at the community headquarters and disrupted the ceremony. The police were called. – We are deeply shocked by the intrusion for the purpose of carrying out a political demonstration, not only into our headquarters, but also into a place of religious worship, which is our synagogue in Bielsko. Such a situation did not occur even during the period of the Polish People’s Republic, and the last such uninvited event was the entry of Nazi troops into the synagogue – ending with its burning and blowing up with explosives – wrote the Jewish Religious Community in a statement issued on Thursday (22 May).According to the representatives of the Jewish Community of Lublin, the incident took place in front of a historic parochet, the only surviving memento from the war, which came from the now defunct Maharshal Synagogue in Lublin, which was turned by the Nazis into a gathering point from which transports departed for the extermination camp in Bełżec.
– I’m just coming back from the police station – Dorota Wiewióra, head of the Jewish Religious Community, told us on Thursday (May 22) afternoon. She was there to give testimony.
Representatives of the Jewish Religious Community wrote in a statement that Wednesday’s (May 21) incident was inspired, among others, by the Razem party headed by Magdalena Madzia, a member of the Razem National Council. The Razem party called on social media for residents to oppose the participation of “Kubiszówka” in the event.
The Razem party wanted to introduce local history classes
In 2021, the Bielsko Jewish cemetery was devastated, dozens of tombstones were destroyed, some were damaged and cracked. It turned out that the perpetrators were children. GWŻ recalls that the Razem party called for the introduction of local history classes in schools at that time. Bielsko Jews write that their task is to take care of memory and history, not considering anyone worse or better than others. – We try to avoid the error of presentism, which consists in not wrongly judging human behavior in the past from today’s perspective – writes the Jewish Religious Community.Jews assure that they have never been extreme in promoting only the views of one specific group. – If we organize concerts, lectures, events commemorating the Orthodox, then in this way we remember the Orthodox, as we remember political assimilationists pro-German or pro-Polish, or communists, it is because we do not avoid telling the story of our often difficult and not black and white history. In our city, which deserves respect because of its tolerance and noble attitudes, we also remember the Zionists, for whom in the 19th century or early 20th century the idea of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine was an extremely important idea on the way to rebuilding state independence, after almost two thousand years of living in dispersion – write the Jews of Bielsko.
The Jewish Religious Community will continue to be open to others
The Jews of Bielsko emphasize that when organizing the anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, they were commemorating the Bielsko Zionists, both of the left-wing (including communist) and right-wing options.- We remember them, bearing in mind that members of the Bielsko-Biała Jewish Association in Israel have always been people of high culture and high moral standards, brought from their hometown. They were people of dialogue, understanding, and it is to them that we bow when organizing meetings — the Jews emphasize.Bielsko Jews emphasize that the Razem party has chosen the path of stirring up social unrest and provoking dangerous situations.- Yesterday, pro-Palestinian slogans were also shouted in Washington near the Jewish Museum during the murder of two Israeli embassy employees. Is attacking culture, spreading propaganda and stirring up social unrest really worth a few percentage points in the polls? – they ask. They assure that they will not be intimidated, especially by people who “want to build their political capital on hatred”. – We will continue to fight for tolerance, diversity, dialogue, culture and the memory of the history of our wonderful city and its inhabitants – they announce.
Many people express outrage at the behavior at the headquarters of the Jewish Community of Greater Poland Voivodeship
In the comments under the Jewish Religious Community’s post on the social networking site, Bielsko residents write that they understand where the protest is coming from, but in their opinion, the local diaspora should not be the target of it. Some accuse the Razem party of anti-Semitism. The Razem Party assures that it only called for a protest against the participation of “Kubiszówka” in the event, and Magdalena Madzia denies that party members had anything to do with disrupting the concert.Meanwhile, representatives of the Bielsko-Biała Solidarity with the Palestinians initiative, who organised the protest, assure that there could be no question of any intrusion, because admission to the event was free, so they accepted the invitation. – We took our seats and listened to the musical performances. There is no question of any intrusion and these accusations are at odds with reality and try to negatively present our peaceful arrival – they argue. They claim that they protested against nationalism, fascism and war, and expressed solidarity with the victims of genocidal warfare. They claim that during the break between performances, they stood up and asked for a moment of silence to commemorate the brutally murdered civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.They assure that none of the protesters are members of the Razem party or its youth wing. – We have nothing in common with them except the belief that there is no place for genocide in the world – assure representatives of the initiative.The incident was condemned by the mayor of Bielsko-Biała, Jarosław Klimaszewski. – In our city, there is no and will not be consent for such behavior – says mayor Klimaszewski.
