{"id":42801,"date":"2016-06-07T17:00:31","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=42801"},"modified":"2016-06-07T16:56:30","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T14:56:30","slug":"07-00-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=42801","title":{"rendered":"In Krakow, Night of the Synagogues Bolsters Jewish Pride, Promotes Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>In Krakow, Night of the Synagogues Bolsters Jewish Pride, Promotes Awareness<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Ruth Ellen Gruber<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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For the sixth year in a row, the seven synagogues in Krakow\u2019s historic Jewish district opened their doors for 7@Nite, a one-night mini-festival.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"American rapper Kosha Dillz performs at the Tempel Synagogue during Night of the Synagogues, Krakow, Poland, June 4, 2016. Ruth Ellen Gruber \/ JTA Photo Archive<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

JTA \u2013 For the sixth year in a row, the seven synagogues in Krakow\u2019s historic Jewish district, Kazimierz, opened their doors for 7@Nite \u2013 or the Night of the Synagogues, a one-night mini-festival aimed at bolstering Jewish pride and promoting Jewish awareness among the public.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each synagogue \u2013 from the Gothic Old Synagogue, now a Jewish historical museum, to the ornate 19th century Tempel Synagogue, used for both services and cultural events \u2013 hosted an exhibit, concert, film or other event illustrating contemporary Jewish culture in Poland and around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important message is that this is an open event, carried out by Jews \u2014 for everybody,\u201d said Karina Sokolowska, the Poland director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Organized by the JDC, the Krakow Jewish Community Center and the Krakow Jewish Religious Community, 7@Nite first took place in 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then it has become an annual event that begins with an open-air Havdalah ceremony ending Shabbat conducted from the roof of the JCC.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the conclusion of Havdalah \u2013 at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday \u2014 until 2:30 a.m. Sunday, thousands of people troop off to visit the synagogues, all of which are located within a few blocks of each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizers estimated that this year\u2019s Havdalah, on Saturday, drew a record 1,400 people who crowded into the JCC courtyard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGo and enjoy the synagogues,\u201d JCC Executive Director Jonathan Ornstein told them. \u201cThe Jewish heritage of Krakow does not just belong to the Jews but to all of us. As Cracovians, be proud.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The event was advertised with posters throughout the city, and a constant flow of people moved in and out of the synagogues throughout the opening hours. The overwhelming majority were young, non-Jewish Cracovians.<\/span><\/p>\n

With only about 20,000 Jews, Poland has experienced a public fascination with Poland\u2019s Jewish heritage, including dozens of Jewish museums and culture festivals often run by non-Jews.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some said they had made it a point to come to Kazimierz to take part.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the only day of the year that you can see all the synagogues, and I came last year and two years ago, too,\u201d said Natalia Giemza, 23, who is not Jewish but said she had taken university courses on Jewish history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other visitors made a quick visit to a synagogue or two part of a Saturday night out. In recent years, the Kazimierz district has become the city\u2019s liveliest center of youth-oriented nightlife, and pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants were crowded on a warm night.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just out drinking and thought, why not?\u201d said Mateus, 22, who joined a group of friends visiting the baroque Izaak Synagogue after 1 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Built in the 17th century, the Izaak has a towering vaulted ceiling and frescoed decoration and is used for regular services. For 7@Nite it hosted an exhibit on Ethiopian Jews with a hummus and pita snack bar in its courtyard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in other synagogues, but never the Izaak,\u201d Mateus said. One of the reasons he had wanted to visit, he said, was \u201cto gain knowledge about our roots.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not Jewish or Catholic, but I think there is some Jewish blood in my ancestry,\u201d he said. Mateus said he did not, however, plan to join the JCC or take any other steps toward affiliation.<\/span><\/p>\n

His friend Jakub said he was Catholic, but he and his parents \u201chave always been interested in Jewish things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The 7@Nite event was staffed by volunteers who managed crowds, handed out kippot to visiting men and kept head counts of visitors. Most were not Jewish and, according to the JDC\u2019s Sololowska, some had come from as far as the northwestern city of Szczeczin, hundreds of miles away, to take part.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Catholic and I started volunteering at the JCC two years ago,\u201d said graduate student Anna Wilkosz, who said that by midnight well over 1,000 people had visited the Kupa synagogue. \u201cI felt it was urgent to be involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Not everyone who turned out for the event, however, demonstrated a positive interest in Jewish and Judaism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside the Tempel Synagogue, where young Poles danced wildly to freestyling by the American Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz, a bald man in his 30s said he was \u201cmad at the Jews.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m mad at the Jews because Jews all say that the Poles killed them in World War II, but I know history \u2014 Poles saved them,\u201d declared the man, who said he was a tour guide.<\/span><\/p>\n

His remarks appeared to reflect a campaign in recent months by Poland\u2019s new hard-right government to absolve Poles of charges of complicity in the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust.<\/span><\/p>\n

Much of that campaign centers on the Polish-American historian Jan Gross, the author of several books since 2000 that examine episodes during and after the Holocaust, including the murder of Jews in the village of Jedwabne, in which Poles killed their Jewish neighbors or targeted Jews with violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

In October, soon after coming to power, the government opened a libel investigation against Gross based on an article he wrote asserting that \u201cPoles killed more Jews during the [Second World] war than they did Germans.\u201d Prosecutors questioned Gross for five hours in April.<\/span><\/p>\n

The investigation was based on an article in the Criminal Code that punishes those who \u201cinsult\u201d Poland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet most visitors seemed to take part in the Night of the Synagogues in a spirit of good will. At midnight, Giemza and a friend entered the 17th-century Kupa Synagogue, which is decorated with colorful frescoes. It hosted a special photo and interview exhibit about contemporary Polish Jewish identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

They carried hamsas, the hand-shaped Middle Eastern good luck charm, that they had made in an art workshop taking place at another of the synagogues.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In Krakow, Night of the Synagogues Bolsters Jewish Pride, Promotes Awareness Ruth Ellen Gruber For the sixth year in a row, the seven synagogues in Krakow\u2019s historic Jewish district opened their doors for 7@Nite, a one-night mini-festival. American rapper Kosha Dillz performs at the Tempel Synagogue during Night of the Synagogues, Krakow, Poland, June 4, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42801"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42804,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42801\/revisions\/42804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}