Rabbi Menachem Margolin Condemns Former Polish PM Morawiecki for Denying Polish Involvement in the Holocaust

July 11, 2024

In a statement this evening, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the chairman of the European Jewish Association that organises regular conferences and delegations to Auschwitz for high ranking politicians, diplomats and figures such as Elon Musk, responded to former Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki’s efforts to deny polish involvement in the Holocaust:

“Whilst we honour and hold dear to our hearts the memory of the many heroic Poles who saved Jews in the Holocaust, we will never forget that Poland is the largest cemetery in the world for Jews who were tortured, murdered and burned alive with the support of too many Poles, many of whom continued to exploit the victims and their descendants after the Holocaust. Indeed some are still continuing to this day to falsify history.

It is for these reasons that the former Polish prime minister comments are not only wrong, but are also extremely dangerous.

Trying to distort and wash away any Polish involvement in the Holocaust is a cynical attempt to distort its full picture. It insults its victims, and undermines its legacy. From jedwabne to Kielce, the evidence is clear. Mr Moriawecki’s comments are therefore Orwellian, sinister and cannot stand unchallenged. The holocaust will never be rewritten. I say to the former Prime Minister: You cannot control the past. You must live with it, and learn from it. Go and learn.”

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European Jewish Association startet Kampagne zur Unterbringung jüdischer Flüchtlinge aus der Ukraine

Nachdem der Krieg in der Ukraine in die zweite Woche geht, erlebt Europa einen enormen Zustrom von Flüchtlingen, die aus der Ukraine in den Westen fliehen. Darunter sind auch zahlreiche ukrainische Juden, die sich in Sicherheit bringen wollen.

Die European Jewish Association (EJA) mit Sitz in Brüssel, ein Dachverband, in dem mehrere hundert Gemeinden auf dem gesamten Kontinent vertreten sind, hat eine europaweite Kampagne gestartet, um vorübergehend Wohnungen, Lebensmittel und Kleidung für jüdische Familien bereitzustellen, deren Leben durch den Konflikt in der Ukraine zerrüttet und zerstört worden ist.

Der Aufruf wurde an jüdische Gemeinden von Lissabon bis Lublin, von Bukarest bis Bordeaux in ganz Europa verschickt.

Der Vorsitzende der EJA, Rabbiner Menachem Margolin, sagte nach dem Start der Kampagne: „Die Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes ist eine Geschichte der Vertreibung, sei es durch Pogrome oder Krieg. Wir wissen nur zu gut, was es bedeutet, wenn man gezwungen ist, von einem Moment auf den anderen zu fliehen. In fast jeder unserer Gemeinden werden Sie solche Geschichten hören. Von Generationen aus Spanien oder Galizien, vom Krieg bis zur Auswanderung nach Israel. Ich sage das, weil wir für diese Katastrophen besonders sensibilisiert sind. Und weil wir so sensibilisiert sind, sind wir dazu bestimmt, unseren jüdischen Nachbarn zu helfen, so wie wir es immer getan haben.“

Er fügte hinzu: „Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass diese Kampagne etwas bewirken wird. Seit Beginn des Krieges haben sich Juden aus ganz Europa an uns gewandt, um zu erfahren, wie sie ihren ukrainischen jüdischen Brüdern und Schwestern in Not helfen können. Wir geben ihnen die Möglichkeit, genau das zu tun, indem wir denjenigen, die in aller Eile und oft mit nichts als den Kleidern auf dem Leib das Land verlassen haben, Unterkunft, Essen und Kleidung anbieten.“

New Cooperation with The Jewish Community of Jurmala (Jewrmala)

The European Jewish Association is proud and delighted to welcome another organisation to our growing roster of partners and communities.
We have just concluded and signed a memorandum of understanding with The Jewish Community of Jurmala (Jewrmala), Latvia.
We are sure that this cooperation will bring with it beautiful and important accomplishments. We look forward to working for the betterment of Latvia and European Jewry together.

Jewish communities under #COVID19

In these challenging times of #COVID19 , when we are all facing personal difficulties as well as community and global ones, the EJA is here to listen.
We have been receiving a lot of emails, messages and videos from Jewish communities all over Europe, sharing their concerns and challenges but also sending messages of hope and tips for coping.
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Antisemitism in Paris university: Jewish student barred from entering because she was “Jewish” and therefore “Zionist”

The student was prevented from entering because she was J”ewish and therefore a Zionist.”

French President Emmanuel Macron called the incident “unspeakable and perfectly intolerable.”

A Jewish student was barred from entering a lecture hall at the elite French university Sciences Po by pro-Palestinian demonstrators who occupied the place and renamed it “Gaza Amphitheater”.

The student, who is a member of the Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF),  was greeted with shouts of “Don’t let her in, she’s a Zionist.’’

The hall was lined with Palestinian flags and keffiyehs. Outside the university, students, including UEJF members, were also taken to task by pro-Palestinian activists. While the UEJF members called for a minute’s silence for all the victims of Hamas and for the release of the hostages, the pro-Palestinian activists responded in the negative, chanting “From the river to the sea,’’ a slogan which means the destruction of the State of Israel.

At a cabinet meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron, who is himself a Sciences Po alumnus, called the incident “unspeakable and perfectly intolerable.”

The Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé,  wrote on X that “what’s going on here has a name, anti-Semitism.’’.

The student was encouraged to file a legal complaint.µ

France – which is home to the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the United States and to Europe’s biggest Muslim community – has seen a rise in anti-Semitic acts and pro-Palestinian protests since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

According to a survey  published at the end of last year, 9 in 10 French Jews attending universities have had an experience with antisemitism.

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