History of Polish Jews; spans the period 966 to present times
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Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!The next installment of our Banned Books Series is Maus by Art Spiegelman, a graphic novel in two volumes depicting Art Spiegelman talking to his father, Vladek, about his experience as a Polish Jew before, during and after the Holocaust. Maus originally began as a strip in 1972 and was serialized from 1980 to 1991. Some have criticized the book for a number of reasons, including topic, style, and themes, but in 2022, a school board in McMinn County Schools in East Tennessee removed the book from school curriculum over concerns about profanity, nudity and violence. Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!
This week on The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קול, we featured an in-depth conversation with historian Benyomen Moss (Kenneth B. Moss), the Harriet and Ulrich E. Meyer Professor of Jewish History at the University of Chicago. He spoke with Sholem Beinfeld, professor emeritus at Washington University, St. Louis, about his book An Unchosen People: Jewish Political Reckoning in Interwar Poland (Harvard University Press, 2021). We reached Moss in Chicago via Zoom on Jan. 19, 2025. What future did Poland's Jews imagine for themselves in the years between the world wars? As antisemitism intensified and liberalism faltered, some Polish Jews sought new ways to understand their community's place in an increasingly hostile world. Moss explores how these Jewish thinkers grappled with diasporic vulnerability, the forces of nationalism, Zionism's promises, and the difficult political choices ahead. Moss, an acclaimed historian of modern Jewish thought, is also the author of Jewish Renaissance in the Russian Revolution (Harvard University Press, 2009) and co-editor of From Europe's East to the Middle East (2023). His work has been recognized with prestigious fellowships and awards, including the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. Related links: Publisher page for Unchosen People: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674245105 Review of Unchosen People in Forverts (March, 2022), in Yiddish, by Mikhail Krutikov: https://forward.com/yiddish/483574/did-prewar-jewish-socialists-believe-that-jews-had-a-future-in-poland/ Kenneth Moss page at U. of Chicago: https://history.uchicago.edu/directory/Kenneth-Moss Music for Tu Bishvat Victor Berezinsky: Tu Bishvat Henry Carrey: Tu Beshvat (Music and Lyrics by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman) Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: February 12, 2025
In the summer of 1939 there was a little girl living in Lodz, Poland who was looking forward to the first grade. It was while on the family summer vacation that Eva Unterman heard her family members quietly talking about Germany and war. They cut short their vacation and went home to Lodz and soon little Eva was looking at black, shiny boots. The German invasion of Poland was underway. Eva's family was forced into the Lodz Ghetto. After four years in the ghetto they were deported to Auschwitz, Stutthof and a labor camp in Dresden and then marched to Theresienstadt. This march is referred to as the Death March. It was May 1945 when Eva and her parents were liberated.The German Third Reich took the lives of three million Polish Jews in World War II. Only a small number survived or managed to escape. And today, survivor Eva Unterman, now an Oklahoman, tells her story to honor the millions of children whose lives were cut short by the Nazis, and to be sure the Holocaust shall never happen again!Eva's granddaughter Phoebe has written a children's book Through Eva's Eyes about her grandmother's early life in Poland.
In 1980, Australian author Thomas Keneally stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while buying a briefcase in Beverly Hills, in the USA.The owner of the shop, a Polish Jew called Leopold Pfefferberg, told Thomas that a Nazi party member had saved him, his wife and many others from the Holocaust, by employing them in his enamel factory.Thomas tells Rachel Naylor why Oskar was such a compelling subject, full of contradictions, and why he believes his book has lasting appeal. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic' and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy's Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they've had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America's occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: Thomas Keneally at his home in Bilgola Beach, Australia, in 1981. Credit: Martin James Brannan/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)
Is America a nation Chosen by God? A New Jerusalem and Shining City on a Hill? What is the shape of Christian Nationalism today?Now 4 years past Jan 6, 2021 and anticipating the next term of presidential office, Yale professors Eliyahu Stern and Philip Gorski join Evan Rosa for a conversation about religion, politics, and the shape of Christian nationalism now.Together they discuss what religion really means in sociological and historical terms; the difference between religions of power and religions of law or morality; the American syncretism of pagan Christianity (perhaps captured in the Qnon Shaman with the horns and facepaint); the connection between nationalism and the desire to be a Chosen People; the supersessionism at the root of seeing the Christian conquest of America as a New Jerusalem; and how ordinary citizens come to adopt the tenets of Christian Nationalism.Eliyahu Stern is Professor of Modern Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History in the Departments of Religious Studies and History and his current project is entitled No Where Left to Go: Jews and the Global Right from 1977 to October 7.Philip Gorski is Frederick and Laura Goff Professor of Sociology at Yale University and is author of The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy (with Samuel Perry) as well as American Covenant: A History of Civil Religion from the Puritans to the Present.Special thanks to our production assistant Zoë Halaban for pitching this conversation.About Eliyahu SternEliyahu Stern is Professor of Modern Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History in the Departments of Religious Studies and History. Previously, he was Junior William Golding Fellow in the Humanities at Brasenose College and the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. He is the author of the award-winning, The Genius: Elijah of Vilna and the Making of Modern Judaism (Yale University Press in 2012). His second monograph Jewish Materialism: The Intellectual Revolution of the 1870s (Yale University Press, 2018) details the ideological background to Jews' involvement in Zionism, Capitalism, and Communism. His courses include The Global Right: From the French Revolution to the American Insurrection, Secularism: From the Enlightenment to the Present, Modern Jewish Intellectual History, The Holocaust in Culture and Politics. He has served as a term member on the Council on Foreign Relations and a consultant to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland. Currently, he is a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Center of Jewish History.His latest project is entitled No Where Left to Go: Jews and the Global Right from 1977 to October 7.About Philip GorskiPhilip S. Gorski is a comparative-historical sociologist with strong interests in theory and methods and in modern and early modern Europe. He is Frederick and Laura Goff Professor of Sociology at Yale University. His empirical work focuses on topics such as state-formation, nationalism, revolution, economic development and secularization with particular attention to the interaction of religion and politics. Other current interests include the philosophy and methodology of the social sciences and the nature and role of rationality in social life. He's author with Samuel L. Perry of The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy, as well as American Covenant: A History of Civil Religion from the Puritans to the Present.Show NotesTrump: “I'm a nationalist.”Increased ownership and proud identification as Christian NationalismEliyahu Stern, No Where Left to Go: Jews and the Global Right from 1977 to October 7The human practice of religion“ The way one person will invoke Christianity will be something very different than say the way a church or the way another person or another religious figure is going to invoke that term.”Humility and a leap“ The History of the Sacred from Babylon to Beyoncé”Religion vs “The Sacred””Western nationalism itself is, the offspring of a Christian supersessionist appropriation of Judaism.”“A new chosen people”The Deep Story Philip Gorski tells in The Flag and the CrossPagan understandings of nationalism“The Deep Story runs something like this. America was founded as a Christian nation. The founders were Orthodox Christians. The founding documents were based on quote, biblical principles or perhaps even divinely inspired. The United States has a special role to play. In history as an exceptional or chosen nation in order to carry out that mission, it's been blessed with unique power and prosperity. But the project, the mission, and also the prosperity and the power are all increasingly endangered by the presence of non-whites, non-native born people, non-Christians on American soil.”Covenantal logicThe tendency to see oneself as “Chosen”England, Netherlands claiming the mantle of Chosenness for political purposes“Jews are sitting around the world and they're trying to figure out how to unchosen themselves.”Supersessionism and the interpretation of the Old TestamentThe Promised Land Story: American ConquestThe Exemplary Story: A Shining City on a HillHow do we gather and absorb political narratives like Christian Nationalism?How is Christian Nationalism passed on?Larger network of international Christian NationalismsThe Arms Race or Game of Thrones that Nationalisms assumeRussian Christian Nationalism and recovering a “Christian Civilization”Christian Nationalism is a political strategy“ I don't think anybody … believes for a second that Donald Trump, or Vladimir Putin, or for that matter, Viktor Orban are serious Christians by any reasonable definition of that term.”“White-supremicism in more acceptable garb.”Losers of free market economicsFree Market Capitalism and erosion of social bonds and relationshipsStrong borders, blood and soilFear of immigrantsTrustWhat is the deeply felt need of someone who comes to identify as a Christian Nationalist?Human needs threatened by social instability and inequalityLip service for the sake of powerWhat “Christian” does next to “Nationalism”Trump embraces Nationalism for himselfGlobalism vs NationalismSecond Iraq War as a mistake“Proponents are not religious in the conventional sense”“ When we're talking about Christian nationalism, we have to first and foremost recognize that we're talking about a different understanding of Christianity than what Americans are accustomed to seeing as the dominant understanding of what that term signifies.”The crucial distinction between Religions of Power and Religions of MoralityPowerful protector“Modern-day Cyrus”—The comparison between Trump and the biblical figure of CyrusWhat is religion? What kind of religion is operative in Christian Nationalism?”It is not just centered in evangelicalism anymore.”First Things and Catholic IntegralismNew Apostolic ReformationDominion Theology“This is about occupying institutions, seizing power, and using the state to impose a particular vision and a particular hierarchy.”Jan 6, 2021Rising paganism in America“How could Christians embrace Trump?”Merging of Shamanism and Christianity on Jan 6Trancendental versus immanent versions of ChristianityNeo-paganism and magical understandings of the worldConcerns and hope as Trump takes office in January 2025Further toward the politics of grievance and victimization“Trump as a backstop”Israel's relianceCan Trump negotiate international peace?“The cynical side of me says my greatest hope lies in Trump's failures.”Hope for more careful, nuanced conversations about Christian NationalismProduction NotesThis podcast featured Eliyahu Stern and Philip GorskiEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Zoë Halaban, Macie Bridge, Alexa Rollow, and Emily BrookfieldA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give
Part 2/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about Aaron Kosminski, a Polish Jew living in Whitechapel who later became suspected of being Jack the Ripper. It's a story of immigration and antisemitism; of mental illness and of an effort to use DNA to link Kosminski to the crime.Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.
Dave Brisbin 9.22.24 If the first three Steps of AA are a serial surrender of the illusion that we can manage our lives isolated from the greater power of community and God, then Steps 4-7 are a serial healing of the damage those illusions have done. Just as surrender is too big to happen in one step, so is our emotional and psychological healing. Stages. Cycles. When the 4th Step speaks of making a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves, we think of lists of defects and shortcomings. A moral inventory is much more than a list. Defects and shortcomings are surface symptoms that expose deep, unconscious fears. Until we face those fears, the source of our dysfunction, we blame everyone and everything outside ourselves for our pain. We live as unconscious victims of circumstance…under the myth that circumstance determines well-being. The circumstances of Polish Jews in 1940 were horrific. After the German invasion that started WWII, they were concentrated and walled off in a tiny section of Warsaw—the ghetto. Over 460,000 Jews, 30% of the population, were crammed into 2.4% of the city's space. Rationed under 200 calories a day, compared to over 2,600 for Germans, disease and starvation were rampant. Under such circumstances, these people should have been destroyed. Instead they built an underground society of hospitals, soup kitchens, orphanages, schools, libraries, workshops synagogues, recreation centers, a symphony orchestra. A smuggling ring of children aged 4-8 crawled through openings in the walls to bring food and other necessities from gentile sympathizers. Their writings reflect the need to find themselves by finding God in every detail of life. They kept their humanity, sanity, and faith by staying in contact with life, with God and God's creation beyond the ghetto walls, beyond circumstance…aware that their thoughts and emotions, however intense, were not the whole of themselves, that they had a choice. This is Step 4 lived out, not listed out. Becoming aware of the whole of ourselves, the unresolved fears that if not fearlessly faced, will keep us in our own personal ghetto whatever our circumstances.
Dave Brisbin 9.22.24 If the first three Steps of AA are a serial surrender of the illusion that we can manage our lives isolated from the greater power of community and God, then Steps 4-7 are a serial healing of the damage those illusions have done. Just as surrender is too big to happen in one step, so is our emotional and psychological healing. Stages. Cycles. When the 4th Step speaks of making a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves, we think of lists of defects and shortcomings. A moral inventory is much more than a list. Defects and shortcomings are surface symptoms that expose deep, unconscious fears. Until we face those fears, the source of our dysfunction, we blame everyone and everything outside ourselves for our pain. We live as unconscious victims of circumstance…under the myth that circumstance determines well-being. The circumstances of Polish Jews in 1940 were horrific. After the German invasion that started WWII, they were concentrated and walled off in a tiny section of Warsaw—the ghetto. Over 460,000 Jews, 30% of the population, were crammed into 2.4% of the city's space. Rationed under 200 calories a day, compared to over 2,600 for Germans, disease and starvation were rampant. Under such circumstances, these people should have been destroyed. Instead they built an underground society of hospitals, soup kitchens, orphanages, schools, libraries, workshops synagogues, recreation centers, a symphony orchestra. A smuggling ring of children aged 4-8 crawled through openings in the walls to bring food and other necessities from gentile sympathizers. Their writings reflect the need to find themselves by finding God in every detail of life. They kept their humanity, sanity, and faith by staying in contact with life, with God and God's creation beyond the ghetto walls, beyond circumstance…aware that their thoughts and emotions, however intense, were not the whole of themselves, that they had a choice. This is Step 4 lived out, not listed out. Becoming aware of the whole of ourselves, the unresolved fears that if not fearlessly faced, will keep us in our own personal ghetto whatever our circumstances.
The third in my series of musical broadcasts about the history of resistance in its many forms. In this session I share songs and thoughts exploring: The mostly Irish soldiers who left the US Army and joined the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War The gold diggers' rebellion in Ballarat, Australia in 1854 The syndicalists' occupation of the Danish Stock Exchange in Copenhagen in 1918 The Japanese diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of Polish Jews during WWII The My Lai Massacre in Vietnam in 1968, and helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson's stand in defense of the survivors The explosive beginnings of the Icelandic environmental movement in 1970 The notion that music can change the world
With a new book exploring her vast experience within the Vatican, former ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glendon shares insights about her time serving under 3 pontificates beginning with John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. "In the Courts of Three Popes" discusses the role of women as it has evolved within the church, the task of being 'a voice for the voiceless,' and "what are we, the laity, doing to live up to the vocation to be a transformative presence in the secular sphere where we live and work?" We also hear about a new movie called Irena's Vow--showcasing the amazing devotion of a Catholic nurse as she worked to save Polish Jews during the Holocaust. We talk with her actual daughter Jeannie Smith about her mother's inspiring story. Father Roger Landry also offers an inspiring homily as we continue through this Easter season! Catch the show every Saturday at 5pmET on EWTN radio!
Katie speaks with Rene Lichtman, born 1937, who is a “hidden child” Holocaust survivor who opposes the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. Then Katie is joined by Layla Saliba & Aidan Parisi to get the latest updates on Columbia University's handling of a recent chemical attack on Pro-Palestinian student activists, censorship on campus, and more. The son of two Polish Jews who fled to France during the 1930s, Rene Lichtman was hidden at the age of two with a Catholic family outside of Paris after his father was killed during the 1940 Nazi invasion and his mother was forced into hiding. After the war, Rene moved with his mother to Brooklyn, New York. He was politically radicalized in the 1960s and became an active opponent of the Vietnam War. Rene was a founding member of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust. On December 22, 2023, Rene took part in a demonstration outside of the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, against the US-backed Israeli massacres in Gaza. Aidan Parisi is a queer, non-binary MSW student at Columbia University. A Washington DC native, social justice has always been embedded in their life. They grew up in a household with two strong parents who imbued upon them the principles of challenging the status quo that perpetuates the subversion of marginalized communities. As an activist, Aidan has been involved in a number of social justice causes that include uplifting the rights of those who are queer/trans, immigrants, low-income, and marginally housed. Currently, Aidan is being targeted for their fierce stance against genocide and forced displacement. Layla Saliba (she/her) is a Palestinian American graduate student at Columbia University. She is studying social work with a concentration in policy practice. She is passionate about disability justice and wants to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone. She truly believes that a better world is possible for everyone and that is what guides her advocacy work. In her free time, you can find her feeding the NYC pigeons, reading, and spending time with friends. Help Aidan and Layla with these links: https://www.gofundme.com/f/grieving-cu-community-members-need-your-support?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer https://www.change.org/p/tell-columbia-university-fire-shai-davidai?recruiter=85462137&recruited_by_id=a717f684-f75c-491a-a512-afecba3efc38&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2023/11/14/columbia-university-apartheid-divest-who-we-are/ ***Please support The Katie Halper Show *** For bonus content, exclusive interviews, to support independent media & to help make this program possible, please join us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow Get your Katie Halper Show Merch here! https://katiehalper.myspreadshop.com/all Follow Katie on Twitter: @kthalps
On this episode of Walk in Faith Craig Syracusa sat down with Dan Gordon to speak about his latest film Irena's Vow, the true story about the life of a Polish nurse Irene Gut Opdyke who was awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal for showing remarkable courage in her attempt to save Polish Jews during World War II. Dan Gordon is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, director, and reserve duty captain in the Israel Defense Forces. Gordon was hired to be the head writer for the TV show Highway to Heaven, for which he directed three episodes. Gordon went on to write numerous screenplays including Passenger 57 starring Wesley Snipes, Wyatt Earp starring Kevin Costner, Murder in the First starring Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon, and Let There Be Light starring Kevin Sorbo, The Assignment starring Donald Sutherland and Ben Kingsley, and the Oscar nominated film The Hurricane starring Denzel WashingtonFor more information and locations: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/irenas-vow/Support the show
In Uprooting the Diaspora: Jewish Belonging and the Ethnic Revolution in Poland and Czechoslovakia, 1936-1946 (Indiana UP, 2023), Sarah Cramsey explores how the Jewish citizens rooted in interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia became the ideal citizenry for a post–World War II Jewish state in the Middle East. She asks, how did new interpretations of Jewish belonging emerge and gain support amongst Jewish and non-Jewish decision makers exiled from wartime east central Europe and the powerbrokers surrounding them? Usually, the creation of the State of Israel is cast as a story that begins with Herzl and is brought to fulfillment by the Holocaust. To reframe this trajectory, Cramsey draws on a vast array of historical sources to examine what she calls a "transnational conversation" carried out by a small but influential coterie of Allied statesmen, diplomats in international organizations, and Jewish leaders who decided that the overall disentangling of populations in postwar east central Europe demanded the simultaneous intellectual and logistical embrace of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a territorial nationalist project. Uprooting the Diaspora slows down the chronology between 1936 and 1946 to show how individuals once invested in multi-ethnic visions of diasporic Jewishness within east central Europe came to define Jewishness primarily in ethnic terms. This revolution in thinking about Jewish belonging combined with a sweeping change in international norms related to population transfers and accelerated, deliberate postwar work on the ground in the region to further uproot Czechoslovak and Polish Jews from their prewar homes. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish family life, legal pluralism, and the migration experiences of Jews in France and the United States. She is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In Uprooting the Diaspora: Jewish Belonging and the Ethnic Revolution in Poland and Czechoslovakia, 1936-1946 (Indiana UP, 2023), Sarah Cramsey explores how the Jewish citizens rooted in interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia became the ideal citizenry for a post–World War II Jewish state in the Middle East. She asks, how did new interpretations of Jewish belonging emerge and gain support amongst Jewish and non-Jewish decision makers exiled from wartime east central Europe and the powerbrokers surrounding them? Usually, the creation of the State of Israel is cast as a story that begins with Herzl and is brought to fulfillment by the Holocaust. To reframe this trajectory, Cramsey draws on a vast array of historical sources to examine what she calls a "transnational conversation" carried out by a small but influential coterie of Allied statesmen, diplomats in international organizations, and Jewish leaders who decided that the overall disentangling of populations in postwar east central Europe demanded the simultaneous intellectual and logistical embrace of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a territorial nationalist project. Uprooting the Diaspora slows down the chronology between 1936 and 1946 to show how individuals once invested in multi-ethnic visions of diasporic Jewishness within east central Europe came to define Jewishness primarily in ethnic terms. This revolution in thinking about Jewish belonging combined with a sweeping change in international norms related to population transfers and accelerated, deliberate postwar work on the ground in the region to further uproot Czechoslovak and Polish Jews from their prewar homes. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish family life, legal pluralism, and the migration experiences of Jews in France and the United States. She is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
In Uprooting the Diaspora: Jewish Belonging and the Ethnic Revolution in Poland and Czechoslovakia, 1936-1946 (Indiana UP, 2023), Sarah Cramsey explores how the Jewish citizens rooted in interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia became the ideal citizenry for a post–World War II Jewish state in the Middle East. She asks, how did new interpretations of Jewish belonging emerge and gain support amongst Jewish and non-Jewish decision makers exiled from wartime east central Europe and the powerbrokers surrounding them? Usually, the creation of the State of Israel is cast as a story that begins with Herzl and is brought to fulfillment by the Holocaust. To reframe this trajectory, Cramsey draws on a vast array of historical sources to examine what she calls a "transnational conversation" carried out by a small but influential coterie of Allied statesmen, diplomats in international organizations, and Jewish leaders who decided that the overall disentangling of populations in postwar east central Europe demanded the simultaneous intellectual and logistical embrace of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a territorial nationalist project. Uprooting the Diaspora slows down the chronology between 1936 and 1946 to show how individuals once invested in multi-ethnic visions of diasporic Jewishness within east central Europe came to define Jewishness primarily in ethnic terms. This revolution in thinking about Jewish belonging combined with a sweeping change in international norms related to population transfers and accelerated, deliberate postwar work on the ground in the region to further uproot Czechoslovak and Polish Jews from their prewar homes. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish family life, legal pluralism, and the migration experiences of Jews in France and the United States. She is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies
In Uprooting the Diaspora: Jewish Belonging and the Ethnic Revolution in Poland and Czechoslovakia, 1936-1946 (Indiana UP, 2023), Sarah Cramsey explores how the Jewish citizens rooted in interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia became the ideal citizenry for a post–World War II Jewish state in the Middle East. She asks, how did new interpretations of Jewish belonging emerge and gain support amongst Jewish and non-Jewish decision makers exiled from wartime east central Europe and the powerbrokers surrounding them? Usually, the creation of the State of Israel is cast as a story that begins with Herzl and is brought to fulfillment by the Holocaust. To reframe this trajectory, Cramsey draws on a vast array of historical sources to examine what she calls a "transnational conversation" carried out by a small but influential coterie of Allied statesmen, diplomats in international organizations, and Jewish leaders who decided that the overall disentangling of populations in postwar east central Europe demanded the simultaneous intellectual and logistical embrace of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a territorial nationalist project. Uprooting the Diaspora slows down the chronology between 1936 and 1946 to show how individuals once invested in multi-ethnic visions of diasporic Jewishness within east central Europe came to define Jewishness primarily in ethnic terms. This revolution in thinking about Jewish belonging combined with a sweeping change in international norms related to population transfers and accelerated, deliberate postwar work on the ground in the region to further uproot Czechoslovak and Polish Jews from their prewar homes. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish family life, legal pluralism, and the migration experiences of Jews in France and the United States. She is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies
In Uprooting the Diaspora: Jewish Belonging and the Ethnic Revolution in Poland and Czechoslovakia, 1936-1946 (Indiana UP, 2023), Sarah Cramsey explores how the Jewish citizens rooted in interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia became the ideal citizenry for a post–World War II Jewish state in the Middle East. She asks, how did new interpretations of Jewish belonging emerge and gain support amongst Jewish and non-Jewish decision makers exiled from wartime east central Europe and the powerbrokers surrounding them? Usually, the creation of the State of Israel is cast as a story that begins with Herzl and is brought to fulfillment by the Holocaust. To reframe this trajectory, Cramsey draws on a vast array of historical sources to examine what she calls a "transnational conversation" carried out by a small but influential coterie of Allied statesmen, diplomats in international organizations, and Jewish leaders who decided that the overall disentangling of populations in postwar east central Europe demanded the simultaneous intellectual and logistical embrace of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a territorial nationalist project. Uprooting the Diaspora slows down the chronology between 1936 and 1946 to show how individuals once invested in multi-ethnic visions of diasporic Jewishness within east central Europe came to define Jewishness primarily in ethnic terms. This revolution in thinking about Jewish belonging combined with a sweeping change in international norms related to population transfers and accelerated, deliberate postwar work on the ground in the region to further uproot Czechoslovak and Polish Jews from their prewar homes. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish family life, legal pluralism, and the migration experiences of Jews in France and the United States. She is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/israel-studies
In Uprooting the Diaspora: Jewish Belonging and the Ethnic Revolution in Poland and Czechoslovakia, 1936-1946 (Indiana UP, 2023), Sarah Cramsey explores how the Jewish citizens rooted in interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia became the ideal citizenry for a post–World War II Jewish state in the Middle East. She asks, how did new interpretations of Jewish belonging emerge and gain support amongst Jewish and non-Jewish decision makers exiled from wartime east central Europe and the powerbrokers surrounding them? Usually, the creation of the State of Israel is cast as a story that begins with Herzl and is brought to fulfillment by the Holocaust. To reframe this trajectory, Cramsey draws on a vast array of historical sources to examine what she calls a "transnational conversation" carried out by a small but influential coterie of Allied statesmen, diplomats in international organizations, and Jewish leaders who decided that the overall disentangling of populations in postwar east central Europe demanded the simultaneous intellectual and logistical embrace of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a territorial nationalist project. Uprooting the Diaspora slows down the chronology between 1936 and 1946 to show how individuals once invested in multi-ethnic visions of diasporic Jewishness within east central Europe came to define Jewishness primarily in ethnic terms. This revolution in thinking about Jewish belonging combined with a sweeping change in international norms related to population transfers and accelerated, deliberate postwar work on the ground in the region to further uproot Czechoslovak and Polish Jews from their prewar homes. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish family life, legal pluralism, and the migration experiences of Jews in France and the United States. She is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies
In Uprooting the Diaspora: Jewish Belonging and the Ethnic Revolution in Poland and Czechoslovakia, 1936-1946 (Indiana UP, 2023), Sarah Cramsey explores how the Jewish citizens rooted in interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia became the ideal citizenry for a post–World War II Jewish state in the Middle East. She asks, how did new interpretations of Jewish belonging emerge and gain support amongst Jewish and non-Jewish decision makers exiled from wartime east central Europe and the powerbrokers surrounding them? Usually, the creation of the State of Israel is cast as a story that begins with Herzl and is brought to fulfillment by the Holocaust. To reframe this trajectory, Cramsey draws on a vast array of historical sources to examine what she calls a "transnational conversation" carried out by a small but influential coterie of Allied statesmen, diplomats in international organizations, and Jewish leaders who decided that the overall disentangling of populations in postwar east central Europe demanded the simultaneous intellectual and logistical embrace of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a territorial nationalist project. Uprooting the Diaspora slows down the chronology between 1936 and 1946 to show how individuals once invested in multi-ethnic visions of diasporic Jewishness within east central Europe came to define Jewishness primarily in ethnic terms. This revolution in thinking about Jewish belonging combined with a sweeping change in international norms related to population transfers and accelerated, deliberate postwar work on the ground in the region to further uproot Czechoslovak and Polish Jews from their prewar homes. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish family life, legal pluralism, and the migration experiences of Jews in France and the United States. She is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hear about travel to Poland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Sharon Kurtz from sharonkkurtz.com about her recent trip exploring the culture and food of Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznan. show notes - https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-poland-warsaw-krakow-and-poznan Sharon says, "It is a beautiful country. It's a blend of history that goes back to the tenth century. And then it has sad history, World War II, and then they were occupied by the Soviets and got their independence in 1989. And some people seem to have this feeling that they're gray and it's sad and dark, and nothing could be further from the truth. It's vibrant and it's really an exciting place to go in Central Europe." Here's a recommended itinerary for visiting Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznan in Poland: Day 1-3: Warsaw • Start your trip in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. • Explore the reconstructed Old Town Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which showcases the resilience of the Polish people after World War II. • Visit the Old Town Square fountain with the mermaid sculpture, symbolizing strength and protection. • Explore the Chopin Museum and enjoy a classical concert in Łazienki Park. • Dive into Warsaw's history with visits to the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. • Enjoy the vibrant modern cityscape, including skyscrapers and bustling city life. Accommodation in Warsaw: Consider staying at Hotel Verte, a Marriott property with a rich history, a palace reconstructed after World War II. Day 4-6: Krakow • Take a 2-hour train ride to Krakow, the cultural capital of Poland. • Wander through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Old Town, filled with well-preserved medieval architecture. • Explore Kazimierz's historic Jewish quarter, known for its synagogues, cemeteries, and vibrant atmosphere. • Visit Saint Mary's Basilica and experience the haunting trumpet call played from its tower. • Discover the majestic Wawel Castle and its Gothic cathedral. • Delve into Krakow's poignant history with a visit to Schindler's Factory and the remnants of the Jewish ghetto. • Consider a one-day Auschwitz and Krakow Salt Mines tour. Accommodation in Krakow: Consider staying in centrally located accommodations to explore the city's attractions easily. Day 7-9: Poznan • Travel to Poznan, the oldest city in Poland, known for its rich history and vibrant culture. • Explore the colorful Old Town Square and witness the daily spectacle of mechanical billy goats butting heads at noon. • Visit Cathedral Island to see the oldest church in Poland and the graves of early rulers. • Experience the interactive Enigma Museum, showcasing Poland's contributions to World War II code-breaking efforts. • Indulge in Poznan's culinary delights, including the famous Saint Martin's croissant with its unique legend. • Enjoy the lively atmosphere of Poznan's nightlife and cultural offerings. Accommodation in Poznan: Choose accommodations near the Old Town Square to immerse yourself in the city's historic charm.
Hear about travel to Poland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Sharon Kurtz from sharonkkurtz.com about her recent trip exploring the culture and food of Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznan. show notes - https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-poland-warsaw-krakow-and-posnan Sharon says, "It is a beautiful country. It's a blend of history that goes back to the tenth century. And then it has sad history, World War II, and then they were occupied by the Soviets and got their independence in 1989. And some people seem to have this feeling that they're gray and it's sad and dark, and nothing could be further from the truth. It's vibrant and it's really an exciting place to go in Central Europe." Here's a recommended itinerary for visiting Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznan in Poland: Day 1-3: Warsaw • Start your trip in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. • Explore the reconstructed Old Town Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which showcases the resilience of the Polish people after World War II. • Visit the Old Town Square fountain with the mermaid sculpture, symbolizing strength and protection. • Explore the Chopin Museum and enjoy a classical concert in Łazienki Park. • Dive into Warsaw's history with visits to the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. • Enjoy the vibrant modern cityscape, including skyscrapers and bustling city life. Accommodation in Warsaw: Consider staying at Hotel Verte, a Marriott property with a rich history, a palace reconstructed after World War II. Day 4-6: Krakow • Take a 2-hour train ride to Krakow, the cultural capital of Poland. • Wander through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Old Town, filled with well-preserved medieval architecture. • Explore Kazimierz's historic Jewish quarter, known for its synagogues, cemeteries, and vibrant atmosphere. • Visit Saint Mary's Basilica and experience the haunting trumpet call played from its tower. • Discover the majestic Wawel Castle and its Gothic cathedral. • Delve into Krakow's poignant history with a visit to Schindler's Factory and the remnants of the Jewish ghetto. • Consider a one-day Auschwitz and Krakow Salt Mines tour. Accommodation in Krakow: Consider staying in centrally located accommodations to explore the city's attractions easily. Day 7-9: Poznan • Travel to Poznan, the oldest city in Poland, known for its rich history and vibrant culture. • Explore the colorful Old Town Square and witness the daily spectacle of mechanical billy goats butting heads at noon. • Visit Cathedral Island to see the oldest church in Poland and the graves of early rulers. • Experience the interactive Enigma Museum, showcasing Poland's contributions to World War II code-breaking efforts. • Indulge in Poznan's culinary delights, including the famous Saint Martin's croissant with its unique legend. • Enjoy the lively atmosphere of Poznan's nightlife and cultural offerings. Accommodation in Poznan: Choose accommodations near the Old Town Square to immerse yourself in the city's historic charm.
Shownotes and Transcript The question 'who is indigenous' comes up a lot while discussing demographics and immigration. And no country has this been asked more than Israel. Brian of London joins us to discuss a Twitter/X post and article titled "Israel Palestine: Who's Indigenous?". For some reason this question is contentious. Brian breaks it down (according to anthropologist Jose R Martin-Cobo) under a series of headings of Land, Culture, Common Ancestry, Language, Religion and Blood. Basically we are looking at a historic continuity. Brian uses these headings to look at whether it is the Jews or the Palestinians that fit this indigenous definition Brian of London completed a PhD in Computational Fluid Dynamics just as the Web was emerging. But then he left academia to do management consulting and eventually moved to Israel to do business. Brian's working on the cutting edge of the new Podcasting 2.0 to make sure this relic of the early web, stays free from capture by the centralising forces of Web 2.0 and their dangerous desire to turn us all into dairy cows. Brian was also the admin on Tommy Robinson's Facebook account that had over a million followers before it was nuked! In his spare time, he assists with a gigantic class action lawsuit in Australia on behalf of the entire crypto industry. Interview recorded 2.1.24 Connect with Brian... X https://x.com/brianoflondon?s=20 Connect with Hearts of Oak... WEBSITE https://heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS https://heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Support Hearts of Oak by purchasing one of our fancy T-Shirts.... SHOP https://heartsofoak.org/shop/ *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and on X https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20 Transcript (Hearts of Oak) And it's wonderful to have Brian of London join us once again. Brian, thanks so much for your time today. (Brian of London) Well, thank you very much for having me on. Not at all. There's lots to discuss in your neck of the woods, as they would say in the Brits, in your part of the world. And obviously we have had, we have a Tera Dahl who was just back from Israel. She'd been there three, four weeks for Real America's Voice reporting. We had Bridget Gabriel on actually discussing. But I think we want to go on a slightly different tact, and it was one of your tweets looking at, and I think part of it was from another article, Israel-Palestine, who's indigenous? and I've always had a very firm understanding because of biblical history and where I come at this from a Christian but even there's confusion amongst parts of the Christian world and community but that may mess this conversation up even more. But let's, Israel-Palestine, who's indigenous? Maybe tell us why this was of interest to you, and then we can go with some of the categories and how you define this term indigenous. Yeah, and I just realized I've got my window open. So if you're hearing background noise, tell me, otherwise I'll leave it open. I'm in my bomb shelter, which everyone should know. And fortunately, we actually haven't been in it for about 10 days now and the last major barrage of rockets was just to the south of us on midnight on new year's eve obviously they did the fireworks for us and that. We we had our Muslim mayor, Sadiq Kahn do the fireworks for us as well in London but it was different firework. Different and the thing with that was actually it was, they fired them. They always fire them at exactly on the hour. In fact, there's a joke that the guy controlling the missiles, his name is Abu Dekar. Dekar means on the minute. So we say, oh, Abu Dekar is firing again. Because they fire at exactly 12, so then the alarm goes at sort of 12.01, and the missiles arrive at sort of 12.01 or 12.02. Anyway, I didn't hear an alarm because it was south of me. I just heard the booms when we intercepted. But yeah, I'm in my bomb shelter. But what I sent you, I sent you an article which actually was published in 2014 by a friend of mine. And I helped get this published because Israeli Cool, the blog that it's on, the guy who runs that and me both found this guy who is a Métis Canadian indigenous person. Or they call them First Nations in Canada. That's the politically correct term. He doesn't mind being called an Indian. He's quite happy with that or whatever terminology, but he's Métis, which is a tribe that its original area was sort of somewhere in Canada. But he put out this article in a very obscure kind of place, and I just grabbed it and I said to him, can you just say all of this stuff again for the Israeli audience? And that's what we did. And because he has studied properly the way the UN came to regard what an indigenous person was. Because indigenous means something completely different from people than it does for plants and animals. Plants and animals are indigenous when they've been in the same place for thousands or millions of years. But people is a totally different beast. We have moved around the world ever since we were people. Vast migrations out of Africa. The term indigenous just doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean the same thing for a person as it does for a plant. The kind of way that this is seen in the academic literature, and remember, this is infused with leftism, so we're picking and choosing here a little bit. And this guy, Jose Martinez Cobo, he came up with this definition. And this has stuck. And this really is the way the entire field looks at indigenous. And I'll just read or direct from the summary of his work what these rules are. Self-identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and acceptance as a member by the community. Okay, so you have to actually feel that you're indigenous, okay? Historical continuity with pre-colonial and or pre-settler societies, okay? I'll read them off and then we'll sort of go through them and what they mean for Jews and Israel and what they mean for Palestinians, for example, and then we can sort of look at this in relation to Brits and Irish people and, you know, English, Welsh, Scottish, and, strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources, distinct social, economic, or political systems, distinct language, culture, and knowledge. I'm going to skip one, and then I'm going to say resolve to maintain and reproduce ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and communities. Okay, this is anthropology language. But the basics are, and my friend summarizes them like this, land, language, culture, spirituality, and the last one is blood. And we'll get back to that because that's actually that's the one that's just the least important actually for Jews, especially for Jews. So Jews self-identify this is obvious it's like, we've been three and a half thousand years or so I mean the the numbers claim there's a book to my right, if you go full screen there's a book the atlas of Jewish history just behind me. And in that, this one here, the Atlas of Judaism, okay, we can go back to. If you go back to that, if you start looking for dates, Abraham kind of is dated at about 4,000 years ago, to 2,000 BC. He walked from Mesopotamia all the way down across the Middle East, Iran, Iraq. It's mixed up because none of those are real. Well, Iran and Persia became real soon, you know, later. Basically, none of it is what is there today. And he walked across that. And then he walked down through Israel. And he walked on a road that we have in Israel today called Highway 40. It's the road that runs down the backbone of what we call Judea-Samaria, what the Jordanians renamed the West Bank, that road follows the path that Abraham took and is described in the bible as the path that Abraham took and when you when you drive quickly down that road today you see the road signs in the order in which they appear in the bible. It's as real as that and that is 30 or 40 kilometres that way I'm pointing off to the east, the sea is that way that's my west, this stuff is real. Now, whether you believe the story of Abraham was real or not to the Jewish people, it is foundational. It is our ethnogenesis. It's the start of what led to being Jewish, but that's really. But I just want, actually, when you say it, it depends what you believe is real or or not, the level of documentation to actually prove that actually the Old Testament story and New Testament story is more documented than nearly any other historical event. And yet the world believes parts of history, but you've got this mountain of evidence and they say, oh no, that's just fables. So when you say, if you want to believe it or not, actually, it's there staring you in the face that there is no more evidence for the biblical events than there is for anything else in the world. Correct. And it's even more than the biblical events. It's that the book that was woven around it, the Hebrew Bible, it was something that Jews preserved through an enormous act of preservation that I don't think has a parallel in the world. Okay. The Torah, as we call it, the way it is passed down is we write it out by hand. And the people who write the Torah, they write it without making a mistake. And if they make a mistake, they throw it away and start again. And there's no tippex and there's no scratching it out and there's no backspace key. This is and this document is so unbelievably well preserved that when you dig up the dead sea scrolls that were that were, you know in the caves of Qumran for three thousand years or two and a half thousand years when you dig those up, actually I don't know they might be a bit more modern than that but when you dig them up I can go and look at them and my Hebrew is not great but I can read the words. Biblical Hebrew is different from modern Hebrew, but I recognize the words. And if I open a modern Torah, they are the same. The transcription errors down the Torah is… We have this record. Abraham ends up in Hebron. He buys a cave to bury his wife in. That purchase of the cave in Hebron again. It doesn't matter whether you believe it happened exactly. That purchase forms the basis of our property rights in the modern world. That purchase of a cave is the oldest recorded land transaction that follows the modern form of transactions, offer, consideration, acceptance. Our whole edifice of modern contract law is built around that cave purchase. And that's part of Judaism. Judaism, then, of course, and I'm no biblical scholar, but Joseph goes to Egypt, the children of Israel become numerous, they leave Egypt in a hurry, which is also a story of the emancipation of slavery. Again, Jews led the way in that. What's interesting about our civilization today is not that we had slavery. It's not that the Americans had slavery. It's that it was abolished, and Jews abolished slavery within their own systems a millennia before. What's interesting about the West is not having had slavery. What's interesting is having got rid of slavery. I'll put forward that that's a Jewish. You get that because eventually, and it took the South Africans a lot longer than anyone else to realize this, but when you read the Bible and you read all men are created in the image of God, you just have to get rid of slavery. It doesn't work. Again, a Jewish thing. All of these stories, and then the Jews come back to Israel, and yes, there's wars and stuff, and there's Canaanites and Philistines and battles and Jericho, and the walls come tumbling down. All of these phrases I can just throw at you. The majority of a reasonably educated Western populace, they just understand those cultural references in a way. I don't need to explain Jericho. You know, I don't need to explain a lot of this stuff. David and Goliath, that's David the Jew versus Philistine Goliath. It happened actually near Gaza. Well, in the hills, sort of inland from there. But Samson, Samson and Delilah, that story is in Gaza. All of these foundational stories for Jews, which Christianity also adopts, the whole of the Hebrew Bible is basically part of the Christian canon. That happens here. Those are place names. Into the New Testament, Armageddon is Megiddo. It's 80 kilometres that way. I can drive there. Yes, I think I can still drive there. It's not closed. We have such ties. We have our ancestors buried. The reason why Hebron is special today and why Jews want to live there is because there's a massive building that Solomon built. It's the same era as the famous Western Wall, the Temple Mount. That building is built on top of this cave that Abraham bought. That's why it's there. That's where we buried our matriarchs and our patriarchs. This is a, and you know when when Martinez talks about historical continuity and strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources, the strongest link you can have is ancestral burial sites, you know everybody sort of knows the kind of, from America, the you know, how, oh this is this is ancient burial lands, well Hebron is the burial site of Abraham's family, basically. Nablus, who is the modern name. The old biblical name is Shem. That's actually closest to me. That's literally inland from me now. That's the burial site of Joseph. There's a building there called Joseph's Tomb. Now, the Muslims sort of revere it because they stole our prophets and stuff. But they only revere it because we do. The site of the temple in Jerusalem is the site on which Abraham was supposed to sacrifice Isaac, where the whole story of the ram and the burning bush, the.. sorry, the ram caught in the bush, not the burning bush, that's Moses. That story happens on what is now today the temple mount. That was the position of the high holies. That's why we built the temple there, twice. That's why the Romans destroyed it. That's why the Muslims came along when they conquered it and built a mosque and a mausoleum on that spot, because it matters. Those are elements of colonization. These other components like distinct language, culture, and knowledge. Now, yes, we revived Hebrew as a modern language. That was controversial because some very religious Jews would say that Hebrew is the language of prayer. It's the language of the Torah. are we shouldn't use it for day-to-day stuff when we're going to be obscene and tell jokes and in fact what tends to happen is we use Arabic for the worst stuff but um, that was controversial but it was also hugely important that there is continuity that any Jewish child living in Israel, any Israeli child, can pick up an ancient scroll that was buried in the desert, and all the letters look familiar. That's amazing. Nobody reads hieroglyphics. The Roman Catholic Church teaches their clergy to read Latin, but it's not a day-to-day language anywhere. Hebrew is a day-to-day language, and it has biblical continuity back 3,000 plus years. Now, when I read through this list, which we'll post later, I missed one. I said I was going to miss one. In the UN, they've got this one line, status as a non-dominant social group. I can't help, and I've discussed this with Ryan. Ryan Bellerose is the Métis Canadian. That's almost like they had to put that in to try and find some way to make Jews not indigenous in Israel. Because we are, Jews are now the dominant social group in one place in the world, Israel. It's like we we won, we're the only ones actually, we're really the only indigenous people that lost our land and got it back and that is essentially, Zionism is that, it is the return of Jews to Zion, you know, by the rivers of Babylon, where, you know, that psalm, that's, what, 600 years BCE? That's Zionism. We've been trying to get back to Zion, Jerusalem, Israel, for thousands of years, ever since we were cast out by the Romans. I think the last time Jews really ran the place was up until when we revolted too much and the Romans kicked us out on 135 or 132 or whatever it was, and changed the name. And again, this is colonizer versus indigenous. What do colonizers do? They bring a new language, they try to crush whatever markers there are of indigenousness. And then they destroy, they build their new stuff on top of old stuff. They try and erase indigenous identities. And that's what's actually happened all over the world. You know, Native Americans cling on in America. Across Europe there are sort of lots of indigenous identities that were crushed by the Romans that never reappeared. I would say that the EU itself was trying to do this, it's it's trying to sort of flatten Europe and you all become Europeans in a horrible Marxist sense and I think that's one of the reasons why Israel is so hated by this globalist elite type thing, is that we are just this total exception. We are the indigenous people that came back, made it work, and made it work. And it doesn't mean, and let's just sort of circle back to the blood, and then I'll let you get a word in edge ways. Blood. This is the bit that gets thrown at us all the time on the internet. Okay? Every time I post indigenous, oh, you're from Europe. Well, actually, I was born in South Africa, so I'm African. You know, bite on that, you chumps. I'm second generation. My parents were born in Africa. I'm second generation African. So I don't know where you think I should go back to. I grew up in London. Yeah, that's true. My accent is London, but I never felt English actually. I've got my British citizenship, but am I English I don't think so. I'm Jewish, Jews belong here, so blood is uniquely unimportant to Jews for one good reason and the reason is Ruth, the story of Ruth in the bible is the story that actually to this day means that Jews accept converts. As soon as you accept conversion, it means blood doesn't matter. Now, we do not have an easy conversion process, okay? And in fact, you know, whenever I've, and I know some of my best friends here are converts, and they're more orthodox than me, more, you know, they observe of Sabbath, Shabbat, more than I do. And in many ways. But there's no hint or there's no feeling for me personally, or you don't find it anywhere in Israel, that if somebody has gone through the process of an Orthodox-recognized conversion, nobody here looks down upon them. In fact, many of us realize that's a lot harder than just being born. So blood. I don't know where his blood is from. In fact, I think the two converts I know the best, Australians and both, I think, from Catholic families, doesn't matter. So I don't care about blood. Now, it turns out I actually am Kohanim, and you can check, but there's DNA markers. But that's not what makes me Jewish. What makes me Jewish is self-identification, keeping the rituals, doing Shabbat dinners. And it doesn't even matter the level of observance. It's some level of observance and some recognition that it means something to be Jewish. So when they throw at you this Khazar crap and go back to Europe, and I mean, even that is ala panim, on its face. That doesn't mean the same thing. On its face, it's just ridiculous, because more than half the Jews in Israel are of Middle Eastern backgrounds. Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Syria. All of these places is where Jews came from. Right now, and Ethiopia, of course, we've airlifted them. All of these things mean that we're just a mongrel mix these days. And our kids are all meeting and intermarrying between different... There really isn't a level of racism that I can certainly recognize in America. So blood, what does blood mean? It doesn't... It's important. It's one of the markers. But it is not who makes you a Jew. Well, I think, yeah, there are a lot of points to pick up. For me, actually, it's the history. Abraham 4,000 years ago, David 3,000, establishing Jerusalem as the capital. So you've got 2,000 years of history on the land, in effect, before the Romans took over. The renaming of that land as Palestine to remove Israel off the face of the earth, just like Iran want to do.. That's deliberate.. Just exactly. Syria, Palestina and yeah of course the word came from the Greek from palash invaders from the sea, you can, it's like you can get you can get locked in all that crappy silly detail, it doesn't matter and it doesn't matter if it's Israel or the kingdom of David, it was or Judah or Samaria. Today it's Israel because when you form a modern nation, within the framework of modern nations that arose in the 1850s onwards. I can't remember the philosophical name for this, but Israel slots in within modern nationhood as the land of the Jews. Should there be a Kurdish nation? Yeah, sure. I just want to tell you something else about this. indigenous status is not zero sum, because there are indigenous people does not mean that nobody else is indigenous. Now, and I'm not coming to the Palestinians by any means next. We have Aramaic Christians living in the Galilee region. They are following a kind of Christianity that emerged very soon after Jesus died. And they are speaking Aramaic, or they're doing their liturgy in Aramaic. I've met one. There's a famous picture of Tommy Robinson standing next to a bearded guy with a big hat wearing his Mossad t-shirt. That's Father Nadav, and we went to meet him in Nazareth. That's in Nazareth. He lives there. There's a community of Aramaic Christians. The only place you can be an Aramaic Christian safely in the whole Middle East is Israel. And then we've got Druze. Druze is a kind of, it's wrong to call them completely Muslim. They're something else entirely. And their geographic region encompasses Syria and Lebanon and Israel. But where are they best off? Most of them, realize, in Israel. We've got some Baha'is who came from Iran, settled here. They're up in Haifa. We have Samaritans, actually. That's very close to me. This town of Nablus, okay? What's the Palestinian town of Nablus? Well, it comes from Neopolis, the Roman for new city. So even their name in Arabic of Nablus, it's a corruption of a Roman word. It's not Arabic. And you know this because Neopolis, anything with a P is not Arabic. So the P gets converted to a B. It's just like the Palestinians, when they say it, they call it a phalestini, because they can't say P, so they change it to E. So Nablus, which is the place of Shem, again, Romans, they knew Shem is in the Bible many times, but they have to rename the place Neopolis to assert Roman dominance, and that's what you do. The Samaritans live on a place called Mount Gruzine, which overlooks that. They're there. We've got Bedouin Arabs who have lived here for a long time, but Bedouins have moved across the whole Middle East for centuries. To call them indigenous, they have parts of their culture here, but it's not unique to Israel. That's the point, the Bedouin culture is across the whole of the Arab peninsula all the way out. So did any part of their culture arise in Israel? Not really. But they have something called rights of longstanding presence, for sure. And they serve in our armed forces, and we have all sorts of internal political disputes over where they live and how they live and what their place. But again, that's stuff we can deal with. It's not sort of virulent hatred all the time. But this point of, is Islam indigenous to Israel? No, nothing of it. The only bit that they talk about is the farthest, there's a passage in the Quran that talks about the farthest mosque, and that has been reinterpreted. And there's a very famous clip from Al Jazeera from years and years ago. Professor Mordechai Kadar, he went on Al Jazeera in Arabic and he asked the host, how many times is Jerusalem named in the Quran? And the Quran was written 700, 800 years after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. Everybody in the whole world, the known, educated world, knew the name Jerusalem. But yet it does not appear once in the Quran. Not once. There's an oblique reference to a night journey by Muhammad to the furthest mosque. And he tied his horse up outside and ascended to heaven. That is the entire basis for Islamic claim to Israel and Jerusalem. Other than the fact that they assume everything. They're a replacement theology. So they brought in all of Christianity. They brought in all of Judaism. They then tell us we forged it to take out Muhammad. And they write their book, the Quran, which they then say, we're the corruptors of. Jews are worse than Christians because we went astray. Jews are the ones who went astray. Christians are the ones who were just led astray. You followed us instead of the Muslims so we're both cursed but Jews are cursed a bit more. But that's that's not the claim, that's the claim, that's what we're fighting over. And of course well yeah and of course you'd, you've got the period of the Romans and then the period of Arabs or Muslims from what 600... And crusaders, Sala in the Kurd, This history just goes, but all of it, the constant theme throughout is, one, there were Jews always here. Jews never left. There were Jews in Sfat. They came back in 1200 and 600. The only people who ever regarded this land as the place of genesis of their entire civilization is Jews. Yeah. And then you go through, you're right, all those histories with the Ottoman Empire, whatever morphing of Arabness or Muslimness there was on there. And then you're right that Muslims tie Jerusalem to a story about a flying donkey, but we'll not even go into that. We'll not have to base what you believe in that. But the issue, I guess, you have now is that the clash between Romans and the Jews living there was a land grab and dominance. It's something much deeper in terms of Islam, and I 100% believe that Islam was started. One of the main reasons is to eradicate who Jesus is. You can't say Jesus, son of God. You cannot, that he was simply a man. And at its heart, and that means at its heart is also hatred of the Jews and the Jewish people, because without Judaism, you do not have Christianity. It's impossible. But that hatred we have seen over the whole time, and 1948, it is an absolute miracle to see what happens. I think maybe the hatred is from, one, the hatred that Islam has against Judaism. That's one. But also there's a second hatred that I think the miracle of modern-day Israel, that many people cannot accept that, and they look for something darker. You know, Israel being the centre of everything, being in control. And they come up with this idea to remove any understanding that actually you can't explain. 1948, when you read about what happened, I've read it in 67, 73, and all of those, it is a miracle. It could not happen, should not happen. And yet Israel stands there as a proud country, hugely successful in the midst of basket cases of countries. But yeah, talk to us about that level of vitriol against Israel and against the Jewish people that exists not only in the Middle East, but actually exists in the media and across the world, really. Well, I, you know, every Jew does, you know, I guess my kids are starting to do it now. You start, you know, when you're brought up Jewish, eventually at some point you understand that this thing called the Holocaust happened. And what it does to a lot of us is you go through a phase where you try and, why? What's with the hatred? Why the hatred? And Islamic Jew hatred, I can see that in the Quran. I can see the hundred and whatever verses it is that mention Jews. And whereas we start off a little bit favourable in the early stuff, once Jews reject Muhammad and say no you're not a prophet we're done with our era of prophets, that was a thousand years ago, you're not one of them, once that happened he really then just goes on a the rest of his life is like, how can I f these Jews? And you know he kills a lot of Jews in Khaybar he takes their wives, their daughters, their and then also in Khaybar this other story, this very pivotal battle, after the battle when he kills all the men and he's got the women and one of the stories that's not well, it pretty authoritative, but again this doesn't matter whether it happened or not, it matters whether Muslims believe it, is that he was poisoned by this Jewish woman that he'd taken prisoner before he rapes her and that he died five years later from the poison he was was given then. Now, again, you get all sorts of scholars saying this is unlikely and it probably didn't happen. It doesn't matter. Do Muslims teach their children that a Jew killed Muhammad? Yes, they do. In large numbers, very large numbers. And so Jews rejected the prophet Muhammad. We don't call him a prophet. He isn't a prophet. He's their prophet. He's not our prophet. We rejected that. He fought lots of battles against us. He killed a lot of Jews, and eventually he was poisoned by a Jewess. These are not good things to teach your kids for coexistence. That's what they do. That kind of antisemitism, I understand that. That's ancient and it really hasn't changed. It can be dialled up or dialled down depending on the authoritarian rulers. UAE today might be dialling it down a lot. Great. In two or three generations, I'll feel a lot happier. Now, Nazi anti-Semitism, European anti-Semitism, again, Christianity had its creation stuff, and Christianity for a long time said that Jews killed Jesus. Despite Jesus being one of us, we, you know, and it took until, when did the Catholic Church change that? I mean, it was like in 1960 something or other, was the papal, you know, it's like, okay, thanks. It was the Romans. We can all agree on the Romans, but yes, Jews are stood accused of killing Jesus. That was one thing. Jews are successful. I don't know what it is. I personally have come to believe that Intel, the guy who founded Intel, Andy Grove, his autobiography was called Only the Paranoid Survive. I think Jews have been bred to be paranoid. There's other reasons which are genetically passed down. Whereas the Catholic Church, for a lot, makes its priests celibate, they become the most highly educated members of society, but yet they don't procreate. Jews did the opposite. You become a rabbi, the town supports the rabbi, and the smartest people who become rabbis then have 18 children. Perhaps that's the reason why we've got higher IQ. I don't know. We certainly value, as a culture, we value learning. We value books. We value, the fact that we've got troops in Gaza. What do they do at the weekends? Some of them, they drive armoured personnel carriers into Gaza with a gigantic Torah scroll so that they can stand in some house with bullet holes all around and do the Shabbat service with a real giant Torah scroll. First, they take in little ones, but once the roots are secure, what are we doing? Are we taking a book? This is the most ridiculous. And then what we do is, we do Talmudic rituals, as the Nazis and the anti-Semites would say. We're not doing it. It's not because, we're not out looking for the blood to drink and make my matzah. That's just utter crap. We're doing it because we value these traditions. We passed them down, and the continuity of Jews as a people has depended on us revering those words. That's why copying the Torah accurately for 3,000 years by hand, that's an astonishing cultural achievement that no culture on earth has managed. You know, Aborigines in Australia might have told stories orally, and that's a great sort of pass down. But we wrote it in a book, and the story of Abraham buying the cave becomes the root of Western civilization. So, you know, you can argue Judeo-Christian civilization for sure. And, you know, some people will say that democracy comes from the Greeks or whatever. Much more of our morality comes from the Jewish Hebrew Bible, the Ten Commandments, than any other foundational thing. And again, the Americans, I'll criticize the Americans and I'll criticize the West in a very specific way. Rights versus responsibility. Okay? If you read the Ten Commandments, what you are reading is not a charter of rights. You do not have the right to life. You do not have the right to property. You do not have the right to your wife. You read a responsibility. You read about honouring your parents. You read about not murdering people. You read about not coveting the other guy's ox or wife. Those are responsibilities. You follow those responsibilities within your tribe. Your rights are implied. And I think America and the whole Western notion of human rights and stuff, it puts the cart before the horse. What are your responsibilities? Your responsibility is not to lob rockets at civilian areas on midnight of new year's eve, your responsibility is not to break out through a fence and go murder and rape people in the most horrible way, if you follow the responsibility of not being complete and utter bleeps then you can have a right to life, we are going to remove we, you do not have a right to life when you commit those acts against us. That's what we're seeing now. We're not Christians, and the whole turn the other cheek thing, it's not in our book, and quite rightly. There's too much of that, and the modern Western Christianity has gone too far. Yeah. Yes. That's an interesting. Here, I'll not go down that route, but actually, I want to finish off with, I'm sure you've had, well, you face, I'm sure, a lot of abuse. And if you are a Zionist Shill, maybe you can share some of that, Brian, because I'll happily be a Zionist, but never get paid for it, which is a bummer. None of us get paid for this. It costs me a fortune living here. I know it would be much easier if we did get paid, but that's not how life works. But it's interesting what's happened. Maybe the backlash you get whenever you talk about Israel's existence and the history and that clash, and also what we are seeing at the moment. It's interesting, what's the term? Proportionality is the term that's used. And I always wonder, what's proportional to rape or murder of children? Do you really want to go down that? Because that's a very perverse path if you want to go down that. But yeah, tell us about that, the backlash, but also then Israel doing what it has to do to exist. And if other countries want to be peaceful, then that makes life a lot easier for everyone, including the Arab countries around. Well you know the backlash, first of all, hurty words on the internet doesn't doesn't hurt me, you know I'm very much a bit of a free speech absolutist, I'll block and I'll mute if they're boring. I mean but mostly I like, you know and I'll spar with a few of them you know. I'm just looking to my left, I've got a screen here, sort of one of these things that kicked this off was because someone said, so I get that a lot of Israeli Jews are scared right now. So here's an idea. Why don't we offer them refuge in our own countries? Invite them to Britain, the States, and Canada. It's a win-win. Israelis get to live somewhere they feel safe, and the locals get their land back. Now, after everything I've just said to you, firstly, we've tried living in other people's countries. It doesn't always go so well. You know, German Jews felt great in 1929, and Polish Jews felt great also. This was not a long-term, tenable solution. And so what I replied was, lol, no, we're home. When you dig up London, you find Roman stuff. When we dig up Jerusalem, we dig past that crap to the city of our Jewish King David. Pithy, short, you can't put all the history of the Middle East in a tweet or an x-post or whatever we're supposed to call it. Praise be to Elon. Now, so I get this back. This isn't how the world works. Just because you've owned something thing doesn't mean you always will. Also, the Celtic tribes inhabited London long before the Romans, and Canaanites existed in Palestine long before Israel. Well, as and when some Canaanites show up, and as long as they're not still doing the child sacrifice shit, we will give them a nice little bit of the country, and they can live and practice their whatever Canaanite religion. But the point is, there is no continuity of Canaanites, because probably because Jews genocided them, whatever, I don't care. Canaanite was absorbed into the Jewish tribes. That's what happened. There's nobody doing Canaanite today, so they don't exist. The Palestinians are not Canaanites. They're not Philistines either. They don't know anything about Canaanites or Philistines. But, you know, you get all of this stuff. David, this is a good one, actually. Chrissy, David was a corrupt criminal whose family came from Iraq. That's the Koran version of David. I was wondering. I missed that. I know. I know. That one's just brilliant. And it's just very simple. And it's with a little Canadian flag. And Chrissy is the name. Compassion, confidence, something about a sire. 170,000 followers. You kind of and then you know you get from sama Lebanese when you check your DNA it's east European, okay my yes yes my DNA did come a bit, because before South Africa we were somewhere in northeast Europe but again and then you know when I look through all of this telling me that I don't belong where I know I belong. Look, I came to Israel when I was 39 years old. I married my Israeli wife some years before that, tried to learn Hebrew in London. I'm crap at Hebrew, okay? I can barely read. I can sort of read, but more often than not, I'm copy-pasting into... Oh, Apple. Apple does not translate Hebrew by default. It's like not not one of their default languages. It's like, get with this. Anyway, I arrive in Israel as a 39-year-old PhD physicist, basically illiterate, but I feel more at home than I did in London. Explain that. I can't explain that. There's this woman, Eve Barlow, she's here visiting right now. She lands and she immediately feels at home. She lives in LA, She's a writer or she wrote, and writes about music. Why does she feel at home? And so many Jews you talk to, and this is a funny thing, when non-Jews come here and feel at home, they then start looking through their family tree and discover that four generations back, they are Jewish. And they start questioning their self. There's something that I can't explain to you that is is magical about being in Israel. Because it's tough. It is more comfortable to live in America and Britain. It really, it wasn't the easiest place to move to, but it just felt better. 100%. I think we'll finish it there. I think it's good to get a short conversation about this in Israel. And of course, you could take it wider into other countries. But that makes it very convoluted. And I think this perfectly fits to this current time. But, Brian, thank you so much. All the links for these will be in the description and our social media posts so people can follow the article and your post on it and have fun at the replies, which is sometimes the best part of Twitter posts. It certainly is. Anyway, yeah, we can do updates about the whole situation another time. But, yeah, thank you. This was really good. This is stuff I like talking about. This is positive. This is the reasons that people need to understand why Israel's not going anywhere. And that's the other. The last thing I'll say is this. You know, for 75 years, the Arabs have fought the correct, well, since 67 in particular, and through the 60s, basically, with the rise of Arafat and the PLO, which was a creation of the Soviet Union, the whole Palestinian identity. That's another point, but I'll just finish with this. They fought the correct battle to remove a colonial occupier from land. They fought the right battle that would have got the British out of India. Or the French out of Algeria, or half a dozen European countries out of bits of Africa. They fought the correct guerrilla warfare tactics, sort of terrorism, murders, all of this stuff. And it spectacularly fails to move Jews out of Jerusalem and Israel, because we are not colonial settlers. We will never be colonial settlers. The mindset, you know, and that's the other thing is, you know, when the Americans come here and tell us that we're not fighting the ground war in Gaza the correct way, and they're going to tell us how well they did in Iraq and Afghanistan, they were fighting thousands of miles from home. Our soldiers can actually stand at the top of a building with binoculars and see their homes. They go home, you know, if they're released at the weekend, they get taken to the border and they're home in 25 minutes. We are not projecting power as an imperial conquering army trying to make Iraqis be Democrats. It's not that. And so that the whole way in which the Palestinians are fought, encouraged by the entire world, encouraged by people shouting free Palestine from the river to the sea. When you do that, you encourage millions of poor Arabs to fight a war that they will never, ever win by the methods that they're fighting. They will never, ever win. They will never commit an act so atrocious that I will wake up in the morning and say, because believe me, October 7th was that act, that I will wake up in the morning and say, you know what? I think I'm going to go live in Berlin. That's not going to happen. You're not going to force me off my land with these acts. They don't work. it's wrong it's just totally the wrong approach, killing us doesn't matter, how many you rape, how many you kill, the only thing that will happen is the scale of our response and the sheer biblical nature of the response will come out, go read the story of Dinah, the men of Shechem, that's the story that's what's going on in Gaza right now, go read that story if you don't know your Bible. One woman was raped in the Bible. Dinah, go read that. Well, maybe those who live in Gaza, the Muslims or the Arabs, if they took this indigenous rights, then maybe they can move the refugee camp to Mecca. I'm sure it would be wonderful and they can enjoy that. Here's a little bit about Yemen. Yemen is Arabia, Arabs to Arabia.
This post contains affiliate links. Painful Joy, published in April 2022 and available on Amazon, represents five years of intensive research in the U.S., Poland, Sweden, Israel and Germany, by author Max Friedman, as he seeks to unearth and understand the real life stories of his parents, Sam and Frieda, two poor Polish Jews. InContinue reading "Sometimes Life Give Us Painful Joy"
We talk to cultural anthropologist and activist Ewa Chomicka from the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews. How do museums stay relevant? How can participatory methods actually enrich a museum's narrative? One such project is a voluntary choir which was set up by the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which lasted for almost 10 years. What else can museums do to remain relevant and maintain social dialogue? Host John Beauchamp speaks to Ewa Chomicka for this last episode of 2023.
On this day in legal history, November 27, 1815, marked a significant moment in the constitutional journey of Poland. Emperor Alexander I of Russia, in his capacity as King of Poland, signed a constitution for the Kingdom of Poland, a state reconstituted under Russian dominance. This event followed the Congress of Vienna's directive to provide a constitutional framework for Poland, leading to the unofficial naming of the state as Congress Poland or Kongresówka.The Kingdom of Poland, established as one of the smallest Polish states in history, was significantly smaller than both the preceding Duchy of Warsaw and the earlier Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The constitution was unilaterally granted by the ruler without parliamentary vote, reflecting a top-down approach to governance.Prince Adam Czartoryski played a pivotal role in drafting this constitution, although its final version bore the edits and influences of Emperor Alexander I and his advisors. Notably liberal for its time, the constitution promised freedoms including speech and religious tolerance, showcasing the influence of both Polish and Russian Enlightenment thought. However, in contrast to the Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw, it favored the nobility and rolled back certain rights previously extended to Polish Jews and peasants.The Russian authorities never fully honored the constitution's provisions. Its liberal yet vague articles were frequently manipulated, avoided, or outright violated. The promised parliament, scheduled to convene biennially, only met sporadically, with sessions in 1818, 1820, 1826, and 1830, the latter two held secretly. The infrequent sessions and the government's conservative stance within them sparked liberal dissent among deputies.This growing dissatisfaction, fueled by the disregard for constitutional promises, eventually led to the November Uprising in 1830. During this tumultuous period, the constitution underwent modifications, but following the uprising's failure, it was replaced by the Organic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland on February 26, 1832. This new statute, far more conservative and granted by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, never saw actual implementation, marking the end of a brief but pivotal chapter in Poland's constitutional history.Kirkland & Ellis, a top-grossing law firm in Big Law, recently reported substantial earnings from retainer payments connected to the bankruptcies of Rite Aid Corp. and WeWork Inc., totaling $41.5 million. These payments come in addition to a $2.5 million retainer from another bankrupt client, SmileDirectClub Inc. Kirkland, recognized for its large number of nonequity partners, has recently inducted seven new partners from its restructuring practice, which gained prominence for representing several cryptocurrency companies in Chapter 11 cases.Kirkland's notable role in high-profile bankruptcies involves complex legal and financial navigations, though the firm did not comment on its specific work for WeWork and Rite Aid. In WeWork's case, Kirkland received over $22 million in retainers and is involved in the company's bankruptcy process to address lease issues, with billing rates for its lawyers ranging from $685 to $2,245 per hour. Other law firms, including Munger, Tolles & Olson; Cole Schotz; and Canada's Goodmans, are also advising WeWork, with varying retainer fees and hourly rates.For Rite Aid's bankruptcy, Kirkland disclosed receiving about $19.5 million in retainers, with similar hourly rates as in the WeWork case. Rite Aid has engaged additional legal counsel, including Cole Schotz, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Kobre & Kim, each receiving significant retainer payments and billing at various hourly rates. The company, under new legal leadership, faces a deadline to emerge from Chapter 11 by March 1.WeWork, Rite Aid Bankruptcy Fees $41.5 Million Haul for KirklandThe Federal Defender Supreme Court Resource & Assistance Panel (DSCRAP) has become instrumental in aiding federal public defenders in preparing for arguments before the US Supreme Court. Andrew Adler, a federal defender, exemplifies this effort, making his third appearance at the Supreme Court, a rare achievement for federal public defenders who usually argue only once before the justices. This trend is notable, as federal defenders across the nation have argued at least one case each term since 2000, according to Adler.The Supreme Court's limited case docket intensifies the competition for arguing cases, with elite law firms often pressuring defenders to hand over their cases to more experienced advocates. To counter this, DSCRAP supports first-time advocates by partnering them with experienced federal defenders. This initiative is a response to criticisms from Supreme Court justices regarding the quality of representation provided by criminal defense attorneys.Justice Sonia Sotomayor, for instance, criticized attorneys unwilling to pass their cases to seasoned Supreme Court advocates, labeling it as "malpractice." This sentiment reflects the dominance of a small, elite group of big firm lawyers in the Supreme Court bar. However, federal defenders often possess deep subject matter expertise and extensive experience in federal appellate courts.Andrew Adler's preparation for his current case, Jackson v. United States, demonstrates the collaborative efforts to ensure successful arguments. DSCRAP assisted in brainstorming strategies and planned moot courts for Adler, while he also worked with Supreme Court veteran Jeff Fisher for brief preparation. Michael Caruso, the federal public defender for the Southern District of Florida, emphasizes the value of partnering with experienced high court veterans for insights and argument preparation.This collaborative approach aims to balance the often David and Goliath-like scenario federal defenders face when opposing top government lawyers, like the U.S. Solicitor General's Office attorneys. The partnerships and support systems developed within the federal defender community illustrate their commitment to providing quality representation in the nation's highest court, countering the perceived home court advantage of repeat players.Federal Defenders Combine Forces to Argue at US Supreme CourtThe new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules for clawing back executive pay are causing significant challenges and discussions in corporate America. These rules, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 but only issued in 2022, require companies to adopt policies to recoup bonuses from executives in cases of accounting errors. Failing to implement these policies by the December 1 deadline risks expulsion from stock exchanges like Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.The complexity of these rules is considerable, as demonstrated by a legal team at Latham & Watkins LLP, who spent over five hours on a call just to create a flowchart for clients. The SEC's directive primarily targets bonuses linked to earnings metrics that are later found to be miscalculated. This not only includes major financial restatements, known as "Big R" corrections, but also smaller, often unnoticed adjustments labeled "Little R" revisions.These "Little R" revisions, typically slipped into regular financial filings, are more common than the more conspicuous "Big R" restatements. However, the SEC's new rules do not cover out-of-period adjustments, which are minor fixes to immaterial errors in past financial statements. Despite this, companies must now indicate on their annual financial statements if any past correction, including out-of-period adjustments, was made.This means companies must now discern between "Little R" revisions and out-of-period adjustments more carefully, a task that has gained new significance under these rules. As Keith Halverstam of Latham & Watkins LLP notes, this represents a new reality where both executive and accounting teams need to be acutely aware of these distinctions.Beyond accounting complexities, the SEC rules also raise questions about their applicability to overseas companies listed on US exchanges, especially in countries where clawing back pay is prohibited. Additionally, the rules apply to the pre-tax amount of wrongly awarded compensation, posing challenges for long-term incentive programs tied to company stock performance.As companies navigate these new regulations, the focus will also shift to how these policies are implemented in practice, leading to further questions and potential issues, as noted by Veronica Wissel of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. This situation indicates a significant shift in executive compensation and corporate governance, requiring meticulous compliance and strategic planning.SEC Executive Clawback Rules Bring Late Nights as Deadline NearsIn recent days, New York has seen a surge in lawsuits filed against notable individuals under the Adult Survivors Act (ASA). This act, passed in May 2022, was a critical amendment to state law, allowing alleged victims of sexual offenses, where the statute of limitations had lapsed, to file civil suits within a one-year period. This "lookback window" began on November 24, 2022, and was set to close on November 24, 2023, creating a sense of urgency for filings.The ASA was designed to address the delayed effects of trauma often experienced by survivors of sexual assault, recognizing that many are unable to come forward immediately after the incident. This legislation mirrors the earlier Child Victims Act of 2019, providing a similar opportunity for adults.As the deadline approached, there was a notable increase in high-profile lawsuits. Figures like Sean "Diddy" Combs, New York Mayor Eric Adams, and former President Donald Trump were among those sued under the ASA. For example, Trump was ordered to pay $5 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation and battery related to an incident alleged to have occurred in 1996.This wave of lawsuits highlights a crucial aspect of the ASA: its capacity to empower survivors of historic sexual abuse to seek justice, regardless of the elapsed time. While the law initially saw relatively few filings, the rush near the deadline indicates a significant response from survivors seizing this opportunity.Overall, the ASA has facilitated over 2,500 legal actions, underscoring the widespread impact of sexual assault and the need for legal avenues to address long-standing grievances. The law's expiry has prompted a final push for justice, bringing numerous cases into the public eye and spotlighting the pervasive issue of sexual misconduct across various sectors.Adult Survivors Act deadline prompts rush of sexual assault lawsuitsGovernor Hochul Signs Adult Survivors ActActor Jamie Foxx accused of sexual abuse in New York lawsuit | ReutersNew York Mayor Eric Adams accused of sexual assault in 1993 | Reuters Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe
Meet Nate Leipciger, a 95 year old Holocaust survivor who lives in Toronto. Nate was born in Poland in 1928 and when he was 15 years old, he entered Auschwitz. Nate is one of the 11% of European Jewish children under sixteen who lived to see the end of WWII. This number drops to only 1% when you consider Polish Jewish children. Put another way, 89% of Jews (and 99% of Polish Jews) under sixteen were murdered and robbed of the chance to live and shape our world. In other words, Nate is a miracle. Not only is it a miracle that he survived the Holocaust, it is a miracle that at 95 years old, Nate is sharp, witty and mobile! You heard right in the introduction - Nate is still driving! Nate and I first spoke in June, and my normal process is to hold one conversation and then publish the episode. However, after speaking with Nate I realized 1) how ill-prepared I was to navigate a conversation with a survivor and 2) how important it is to tell as much of Nate's story as possible. As a result, Nate and I held additional conversations, the latest being this past Monday, October 23. This most recent conversation provides us all with an opportunity to hear Nate's thoughts on 10/7 and the atrocities Hamas unleashed on Israel. Our discussion on 10/7 begins shortly after the 60 min mark. In 2015, Nate published a book titled The Weight of Freedom. His book details the living hell he and his family navigated while living under the control of the Third Reich. Nate was 5 years old when the Nazis came to power and for the next 12 years he lived under the rule of Adolf Hitler. In 1939, hell touched down on earth, and Nate lived it. It looked like starvation, disease, firing squads, gas chambers, and sexual abuse by fellow prisoners. This wasn't war. This was depravity that was mainstreamed, normalized and systematized. The Nazis were purpose built to exterminate the Jewish people. And they almost achieved that goal having murdered ⅓ of the living Jews at the time. Nate and his family were forced from their home into a ghetto in 1939. And then on August 1, 1943 - Nate and his family were deported to the death camp, Auschwitz. Over 1.1 million people, including Nate's mother and sister, were murdered in Auschwitz. As you will hear, while in Auschwitz, Nate asked his father what they would do if they were marched into the gas chambers. Nate's father responded, “we will march with our heads held high in defiance and we will say the first line of the Shema over and over again.” This episode concludes with Nate saying the Shema and me joining him. I have muted my voice so each one of you will be able to say the Shema with him. Thank god Nate's final Shema was not lost in the darkness of Auschwitz. Instead, Nate's Shemas continue to this day and will be here, for eternity, for all those seeking Nate's courage. May we and god never forget Nate, his words and the wisdom and daas he has chosen to gift all of us.
EPISODE 1811: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Roger Moorhouse, author of THE FORGERS, about the forgotten story of a Polish diplomatic rescue operation to save the lives of Polish JewsRoger Moorhouse is a historian and author specialising in modern German and Central European history, with particular interest in Nazi Germany, the Holocaust and World War Two in Europe. A visiting professor at the College of Europe in Warsaw, he is also the author of a number of books on modern German history, including "Killing Hitler", "Berlin at War", "The Third Reich in 100 Objects" and "The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941". He is a regular commentator in the specialist and general press, and a consultant for film and television.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
"Painful Joy" is a book published in April 2022 and available on Amazon, represents five years of intensive research in the U.S., Poland, Sweden, Israel and Germany, by author Max Friedman, as he seeks to unearth and understand the real life stories of his parents, Sam and Frieda, two poor Polish Jews. In the process he discovers their roots, recreates their lives and times and uncovers both their remarkable journeys and painful secrets. Part memoir, part genealogical mystery and part history, the book is an absorbing, heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking saga as readers accompany the author on his extraordinary exploration of the complicated relationship between two Holocaust survivors who meet in Sweden after their liberation from Bergen-Belsen, and experience the "painful joy" of a love too often touched by death. It explores questions of survival, the ability to reimagine memories in order to deal with the truth, and what it was like growing up in a world that was never to be "normal." For more, go to https://maxfriedman.net/
On today's program, the Fellowship's C.J. Burroughs shares a “Heroes of the Holocaust” story about a Polish soccer star who rescued Polish Jews from Nazi persecution.
Painful Joy, published in April 2022 and available on Amazon, represents five years of intensive research in the U.S., Poland, Sweden, Israel and Germany, by author Max Friedman, as he seeks to unearth and understand the real life stories of his parents, Sam and Frieda, two poor Polish Jews. In the process he discovers their roots, recreates their lives and times and uncovers both their remarkable journeys and painful secrets. Part memoir, part genealogical mystery and part history, the book is an absorbing, heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking saga as readers accompany the author on his extraordinary exploration of the complicated relationship between two Holocaust survivors who meet in Sweden after their liberation from Bergen-Belsen, and experience the "painful joy" of a love too often touched by death. It explores questions of survival, the ability to reimagine memories in order to deal with the truth, and what it was like growing up in a world that was never to be "normal."Thank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode. BetterHelp is the world's largest therapy service, and it's 100% online. With BetterHelp, you can tap into a network of over 30,000 licensed and experienced therapists who can help you with a wide range of issues.Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/howtosurvivesociety Support the showThank you for listening to another episode of How To Survive Society.Thank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode.BetterHelp is the world's largest therapy service, and it's 100% online.With BetterHelp, you can tap into a network of over 30,000 licensed and experienced therapists who can help you with a wide range of issues.To get started, you just answer a few questions about your needs and preferences intherapy. That way, BetterHelp can match you with the right therapist from their network, Then you can talk to your therapist however you feel comfortable, whether it's via text, chat, phone or video call. You can message your therapist at any time, and schedule live sessions when it's convenient for you. If your therapist isn't the right fit for any reason, you can switch to a new therapist at no additional charge.With BetterHelp, you get the same professionalism and quality you expect from in-office therapy, but with a therapist who is custom-picked for you, more scheduling flexibility, and at a more affordable price.Get 10% off your first month at https://www.betterhelp.com/howtosurvivesociety
Sign up to receive podcast: People Group Summary: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14432 #AThirdofUs https://athirdofus.com/ Listen to "A Third of Us" podcast with Greg Kelley, produced by the Alliance for the Unreached: https://alliancefortheunreached.org/podcast/ · JoshuaProject.net/frontier#podcast provides links to podcast recordings of the prayer guide for the 31 largest FPGs. · Go31.org/FREE provides the printed prayer guide for the largest 31 FPGs along with resources to support those wanting to enlist others in prayer for FPGs. · Indigitous.us/home/frontier-peoples has published a beautiful print/PDF introducti · on to FPGs for children, supported by a dramatized podcast edition.
With An Ordinary Life? The Journeys of Tonia Lechtman, 1918-1996 (Ohio University Press, 2023), historian Anna Müller has produced a beautifully written book that is part biography, part family ethnography, part critical meditation on the challenges and contradictions of historical sourcework. Honest and illuminating reflections on the process of crafting an intimate portrait from a scholarly perspective are interwoven with an illuminating case study of migration, motherhood, identity, and incarceration in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Tonia Lechtman was a Jew, a loving mother and wife, a Polish patriot, a committed communist, and a Holocaust survivor. Throughout her life these identities brought her to multiple countries—Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Israel—during some of the most pivotal and cataclysmic decades of the twentieth century. In most of those places, she lived on the margins of society while working to promote communism and trying to create a safe space for her small children. One woman's national, political, ethnic, social, and personal identities impart an extraordinary perspective on the histories of Europe, Polish Jews, communism, activism, and survival during the twentieth century. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
With An Ordinary Life? The Journeys of Tonia Lechtman, 1918-1996 (Ohio University Press, 2023), historian Anna Müller has produced a beautifully written book that is part biography, part family ethnography, part critical meditation on the challenges and contradictions of historical sourcework. Honest and illuminating reflections on the process of crafting an intimate portrait from a scholarly perspective are interwoven with an illuminating case study of migration, motherhood, identity, and incarceration in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Tonia Lechtman was a Jew, a loving mother and wife, a Polish patriot, a committed communist, and a Holocaust survivor. Throughout her life these identities brought her to multiple countries—Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Israel—during some of the most pivotal and cataclysmic decades of the twentieth century. In most of those places, she lived on the margins of society while working to promote communism and trying to create a safe space for her small children. One woman's national, political, ethnic, social, and personal identities impart an extraordinary perspective on the histories of Europe, Polish Jews, communism, activism, and survival during the twentieth century. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
With An Ordinary Life? The Journeys of Tonia Lechtman, 1918-1996 (Ohio University Press, 2023), historian Anna Müller has produced a beautifully written book that is part biography, part family ethnography, part critical meditation on the challenges and contradictions of historical sourcework. Honest and illuminating reflections on the process of crafting an intimate portrait from a scholarly perspective are interwoven with an illuminating case study of migration, motherhood, identity, and incarceration in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Tonia Lechtman was a Jew, a loving mother and wife, a Polish patriot, a committed communist, and a Holocaust survivor. Throughout her life these identities brought her to multiple countries—Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Israel—during some of the most pivotal and cataclysmic decades of the twentieth century. In most of those places, she lived on the margins of society while working to promote communism and trying to create a safe space for her small children. One woman's national, political, ethnic, social, and personal identities impart an extraordinary perspective on the histories of Europe, Polish Jews, communism, activism, and survival during the twentieth century. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies
With An Ordinary Life? The Journeys of Tonia Lechtman, 1918-1996 (Ohio University Press, 2023), historian Anna Müller has produced a beautifully written book that is part biography, part family ethnography, part critical meditation on the challenges and contradictions of historical sourcework. Honest and illuminating reflections on the process of crafting an intimate portrait from a scholarly perspective are interwoven with an illuminating case study of migration, motherhood, identity, and incarceration in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Tonia Lechtman was a Jew, a loving mother and wife, a Polish patriot, a committed communist, and a Holocaust survivor. Throughout her life these identities brought her to multiple countries—Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Israel—during some of the most pivotal and cataclysmic decades of the twentieth century. In most of those places, she lived on the margins of society while working to promote communism and trying to create a safe space for her small children. One woman's national, political, ethnic, social, and personal identities impart an extraordinary perspective on the histories of Europe, Polish Jews, communism, activism, and survival during the twentieth century. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography
With An Ordinary Life? The Journeys of Tonia Lechtman, 1918-1996 (Ohio University Press, 2023), historian Anna Müller has produced a beautifully written book that is part biography, part family ethnography, part critical meditation on the challenges and contradictions of historical sourcework. Honest and illuminating reflections on the process of crafting an intimate portrait from a scholarly perspective are interwoven with an illuminating case study of migration, motherhood, identity, and incarceration in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Tonia Lechtman was a Jew, a loving mother and wife, a Polish patriot, a committed communist, and a Holocaust survivor. Throughout her life these identities brought her to multiple countries—Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Israel—during some of the most pivotal and cataclysmic decades of the twentieth century. In most of those places, she lived on the margins of society while working to promote communism and trying to create a safe space for her small children. One woman's national, political, ethnic, social, and personal identities impart an extraordinary perspective on the histories of Europe, Polish Jews, communism, activism, and survival during the twentieth century. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With An Ordinary Life? The Journeys of Tonia Lechtman, 1918-1996 (Ohio University Press, 2023), historian Anna Müller has produced a beautifully written book that is part biography, part family ethnography, part critical meditation on the challenges and contradictions of historical sourcework. Honest and illuminating reflections on the process of crafting an intimate portrait from a scholarly perspective are interwoven with an illuminating case study of migration, motherhood, identity, and incarceration in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Tonia Lechtman was a Jew, a loving mother and wife, a Polish patriot, a committed communist, and a Holocaust survivor. Throughout her life these identities brought her to multiple countries—Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Israel—during some of the most pivotal and cataclysmic decades of the twentieth century. In most of those places, she lived on the margins of society while working to promote communism and trying to create a safe space for her small children. One woman's national, political, ethnic, social, and personal identities impart an extraordinary perspective on the histories of Europe, Polish Jews, communism, activism, and survival during the twentieth century. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies
Throughout history Jews have been the victims of persecution and discrimination that has forced them from the places they've called home. While the stories associated with the Holocaust are often-told, the stories of the Jewish people in Cuba during the 1950s and 1960s are not as well known. And still, these stories are among the most harrowing, especially for the Polish Jews who had come to Havana to escape the changing tides of Eastern Europe.On this week's episode, Rabbi Pont speaks with author A.J. Sidransky about his new book, The Incident at San Miguel, and Miriam Bradman Abrahams, whose family this amazing historical fiction is based on.An episode not to be missed, especially for the avid reader out there!The book, The Incident at San Miguel, will be released on May 19. It can be purchased on Amazon in hard cover, paperback, Kindle, large print, and audio book formats. Miriam and AJ are also available to appear at book club and larger events.
Since the early 2000s, Poland has experienced a remarkable Jewish revival. Klezmer music, Jewish-style restaurants, kosher vodka, and festivals of Jewish culture have become popular, while new museums, memorials, Jewish studies programs, and Holocaust research centers reflect soul-searching about Polish-Jewish relations before, during, and after the Holocaust. In Resurrecting the Jew: Nationalism, Philosemitism, and Poland's Jewish Revival (Princeton University Press, 2022), sociologist Geneviève Zubrzycki examines this revival and asks what it means to try to bring Jewish culture back to life in a country where 3 million Jews were murdered and where only about 10,000 Jews now live. Drawing on a decade of participant-observation in Jewish and Jewish-related organizations in Poland, a Birthright trip to Israel with young Polish Jews, and more than a hundred interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish Poles engaged in the Jewish revival, Resurrecting the Jew shows how the revival has been spurred by progressive Poles who want to break the association between Polishness and Catholicism, promote the idea of a multicultural Poland, and resist the Far Right government. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Since the early 2000s, Poland has experienced a remarkable Jewish revival. Klezmer music, Jewish-style restaurants, kosher vodka, and festivals of Jewish culture have become popular, while new museums, memorials, Jewish studies programs, and Holocaust research centers reflect soul-searching about Polish-Jewish relations before, during, and after the Holocaust. In Resurrecting the Jew: Nationalism, Philosemitism, and Poland's Jewish Revival (Princeton University Press, 2022), sociologist Geneviève Zubrzycki examines this revival and asks what it means to try to bring Jewish culture back to life in a country where 3 million Jews were murdered and where only about 10,000 Jews now live. Drawing on a decade of participant-observation in Jewish and Jewish-related organizations in Poland, a Birthright trip to Israel with young Polish Jews, and more than a hundred interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish Poles engaged in the Jewish revival, Resurrecting the Jew shows how the revival has been spurred by progressive Poles who want to break the association between Polishness and Catholicism, promote the idea of a multicultural Poland, and resist the Far Right government. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Since the early 2000s, Poland has experienced a remarkable Jewish revival. Klezmer music, Jewish-style restaurants, kosher vodka, and festivals of Jewish culture have become popular, while new museums, memorials, Jewish studies programs, and Holocaust research centers reflect soul-searching about Polish-Jewish relations before, during, and after the Holocaust. In Resurrecting the Jew: Nationalism, Philosemitism, and Poland's Jewish Revival (Princeton University Press, 2022), sociologist Geneviève Zubrzycki examines this revival and asks what it means to try to bring Jewish culture back to life in a country where 3 million Jews were murdered and where only about 10,000 Jews now live. Drawing on a decade of participant-observation in Jewish and Jewish-related organizations in Poland, a Birthright trip to Israel with young Polish Jews, and more than a hundred interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish Poles engaged in the Jewish revival, Resurrecting the Jew shows how the revival has been spurred by progressive Poles who want to break the association between Polishness and Catholicism, promote the idea of a multicultural Poland, and resist the Far Right government. Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday. Political correspondent Tal Schneider and Knesset correspondent Carrie Keller Lynn join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Yesterday, thousands of students in more than a dozen university and college campuses around the country held a one-hour coordinated “strike” Monday afternoon against the new government's plan to overhaul the judiciary, saying they were fighting for their futures. Schneider explains when previous protests have changed governments. Blue and White head Benny Gantz is willing to collaborate on bills pushing for a judicial overhaul. But why should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu need or even want Gantz's cooperation? Both guests weigh in. Schneider recently spoke with Rushan Abbas and her husband Abdulhakim Idris, two Sunni Muslims from China's far-northwestern Xinjiang province. Why were they here in Israel? And finally, Borschel-Dan speaks about previously unpublished photographs taken by a Polish firefighter of the aftermath of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Revolt that were released today by POLIN: Museum of the History of Polish Jews ahead of an April exhibition. Discussed articles include: ‘This is an emergency': Thousands of students rally against judicial makeover plan PM says protests won't deter judicial push as Gantz presses for compromise talks Netanyahu trial boosted backing for judicial overhaul push, justice minister says She exposed China's crimes against the Uighurs; now she needs the world to save them 21 never-published photos of Warsaw Ghetto Revolt's aftermath found in Poland attic Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: Jews being deported from the Warsaw Ghetto following the revolt, April-May 1943 (Z. L. Grzywaczewski / from the family archive of Maciej Grzywaczewski, POLIN Museum)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The early 1930s constituted an ambiguous moment for the roughly three million Jews that resided in the Polish Republic. On the one hand, as recent scholars have emphasized, Polish Jews found numerous opportunities to partake in flourishing cultural and political projects that spanned the ideological spectrum from Zionism to Yiddishism to Polish integrationism to various brands of socialism. In addition, Josef Pilsudski's government – while by no means an ally to Polish Jewry – was the lesser of two evils compared to the explicitly anti-Semitic Endecja regime that ruled the country by the end of the decade. At the same time, however, trouble lurked around every corner. Polish Jews found their earning opportunities deeply limited, due to both economic depression and a widespread social prejudice that blocked them from getting jobs. Even more concerning, the rise of fascist politics – in Poland and abroad – made clear the fledgling state's weaknesses, and cast a shadow of doubt over any sense that acceptance would prevail over national hatred. Polish Jews now grappled with the possibility that Jewish life in Eastern Europe might not be feasible going forward. What was to be done amidst these precarious circumstances? How was one to plan for the future, both as an individual and as a member of a minority community? How was one to handle the anxiety of unclear and multifarious dangers? In his new volume An Unchosen People: Jewish Political Reckoning in Interwar Poland (Harvard UP, 2021), Kenneth Moss has resurrected the mentalité of those that struggled daily with these questions, illustrating what it meant for Polish Jews to grope for meaning in the face of constant uncertainty and real dread. To accomplish this task, Moss has assembled and examined an astounding breadth of documents produced by people from throughout Polish Jewish society. Readers will find analyses of Polish Jewish intellectual luminaries like Max Weinreich, Jacob Lestschinsky and Chaim Grade, each of whom allowed recent events to influence and mutate their understandings of Jewish life and community. Moss also shines a light on more common Jews that no less vociferously sought to forge practical and pragmatic solutions to their increasingly dire situations. The result is a monograph dedicated to the daily experience of minority life in the modern world; a world permeated by a sense of unease at what tomorrow might bring. James Benjamin Nadelis a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
The early 1930s constituted an ambiguous moment for the roughly three million Jews that resided in the Polish Republic. On the one hand, as recent scholars have emphasized, Polish Jews found numerous opportunities to partake in flourishing cultural and political projects that spanned the ideological spectrum from Zionism to Yiddishism to Polish integrationism to various brands of socialism. In addition, Josef Pilsudski's government – while by no means an ally to Polish Jewry – was the lesser of two evils compared to the explicitly anti-Semitic Endecja regime that ruled the country by the end of the decade. At the same time, however, trouble lurked around every corner. Polish Jews found their earning opportunities deeply limited, due to both economic depression and a widespread social prejudice that blocked them from getting jobs. Even more concerning, the rise of fascist politics – in Poland and abroad – made clear the fledgling state's weaknesses, and cast a shadow of doubt over any sense that acceptance would prevail over national hatred. Polish Jews now grappled with the possibility that Jewish life in Eastern Europe might not be feasible going forward. What was to be done amidst these precarious circumstances? How was one to plan for the future, both as an individual and as a member of a minority community? How was one to handle the anxiety of unclear and multifarious dangers? In his new volume An Unchosen People: Jewish Political Reckoning in Interwar Poland (Harvard UP, 2021), Kenneth Moss has resurrected the mentalité of those that struggled daily with these questions, illustrating what it meant for Polish Jews to grope for meaning in the face of constant uncertainty and real dread. To accomplish this task, Moss has assembled and examined an astounding breadth of documents produced by people from throughout Polish Jewish society. Readers will find analyses of Polish Jewish intellectual luminaries like Max Weinreich, Jacob Lestschinsky and Chaim Grade, each of whom allowed recent events to influence and mutate their understandings of Jewish life and community. Moss also shines a light on more common Jews that no less vociferously sought to forge practical and pragmatic solutions to their increasingly dire situations. The result is a monograph dedicated to the daily experience of minority life in the modern world; a world permeated by a sense of unease at what tomorrow might bring. James Benjamin Nadelis a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
The early 1930s constituted an ambiguous moment for the roughly three million Jews that resided in the Polish Republic. On the one hand, as recent scholars have emphasized, Polish Jews found numerous opportunities to partake in flourishing cultural and political projects that spanned the ideological spectrum from Zionism to Yiddishism to Polish integrationism to various brands of socialism. In addition, Josef Pilsudski's government – while by no means an ally to Polish Jewry – was the lesser of two evils compared to the explicitly anti-Semitic Endecja regime that ruled the country by the end of the decade. At the same time, however, trouble lurked around every corner. Polish Jews found their earning opportunities deeply limited, due to both economic depression and a widespread social prejudice that blocked them from getting jobs. Even more concerning, the rise of fascist politics – in Poland and abroad – made clear the fledgling state's weaknesses, and cast a shadow of doubt over any sense that acceptance would prevail over national hatred. Polish Jews now grappled with the possibility that Jewish life in Eastern Europe might not be feasible going forward. What was to be done amidst these precarious circumstances? How was one to plan for the future, both as an individual and as a member of a minority community? How was one to handle the anxiety of unclear and multifarious dangers? In his new volume An Unchosen People: Jewish Political Reckoning in Interwar Poland (Harvard UP, 2021), Kenneth Moss has resurrected the mentalité of those that struggled daily with these questions, illustrating what it meant for Polish Jews to grope for meaning in the face of constant uncertainty and real dread. To accomplish this task, Moss has assembled and examined an astounding breadth of documents produced by people from throughout Polish Jewish society. Readers will find analyses of Polish Jewish intellectual luminaries like Max Weinreich, Jacob Lestschinsky and Chaim Grade, each of whom allowed recent events to influence and mutate their understandings of Jewish life and community. Moss also shines a light on more common Jews that no less vociferously sought to forge practical and pragmatic solutions to their increasingly dire situations. The result is a monograph dedicated to the daily experience of minority life in the modern world; a world permeated by a sense of unease at what tomorrow might bring. James Benjamin Nadelis a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies
Sign up to receive podcast: https://joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday/podcast People Group Summary: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14432 #AThirdofUs https://athirdofus.com/ Listen to "A Third of Us" podcast with Greg Kelley, produced by the Alliance for the Unreached: https://alliancefortheunreached.org/podcast/ Watch "Stories of Courageous Christians" w/ Mark Kordic https://storiesofcourageouschristians.com/stories-of-courageous-christians God's Best to You!
CNN learns Trump's legal team has attempted to block a federal grand jury from gathering information from the former president's top aides about his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. That, as the January 6 Committee prepares to hold what may be its final public hearing next week before the panel releases its report. The panel discusses if it's likely Trump's team will prevail with his executive privilege claims in the Mar-a Lago investigation, how financial pressures might be weighing on Trump's decision to run in 2024, and what the January 6 Committee's endgame could be.Art Spiegelman is the author of Pulitzer Prize winning “Maus”, a graphic novel retelling Spiegelman's father's experiences as a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust. He joins to discuss the banning of his book by a Tennessee school district and the “Orwellian” censorship battle that's rapidly rising across the US. Plus, new laws restricting teaching about race, history & gender identity come into effect in more than a dozen states, and Florida Governor Desantis rewrites the history of the anti-slavery movement in a rant against the New York Times' 1619 project.Hosted by Sara Sidner.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
CNN learns Trump's legal team has attempted to block a federal grand jury from gathering information from the former president's top aides about his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. That, as the January 6 Committee prepares to hold what may be its final public hearing next week before the panel releases its report. The panel discusses if it's likely Trump's team will prevail with his executive privilege claims in the Mar-a Lago investigation, how financial pressures might be weighing on Trump's decision to run in 2024, and what the January 6 Committee's endgame could be.Art Spiegelman is the author of Pulitzer Prize winning “Maus”, a graphic novel retelling Spiegelman's father's experiences as a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust. He joins to discuss the banning of his book by a Tennessee school district and the “Orwellian” censorship battle that's rapidly rising across the US. Plus, new laws restricting teaching about race, history & gender identity come into effect in more than a dozen states, and Florida Governor Desantis rewrites the history of the anti-slavery movement in a rant against the New York Times' 1619 project.Hosted by Sara Sidner.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
"The Archive begins in 1940. The Germans themselves do not decide they are going to murder all the Jews, they don't decide on the Final Solution until late 1941. When the archive begins, Ringelblum is creating the archive in order to do what Max Weinreich was doing with the YIVO [Yiddish Scientific Institute] - that was to get people to write about their lives, to get people to describe their experiences so as to use the knowledge gained to help the psychological and the community rebuilding after the war. ‘The war will be over, and we will rebuild our lives, what lessons will this experience have taught us?' The way to get that information is to get people to write essays, to do interviews." Episode Description: We begin with the historical background that allowed for the conceptualization and creation of The Ringelblum Archive - the contemporaneous documentation by the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto. The thread of psychoanalytic thinking is identified in this work through the interest in everyday living, “nothing is unimportant,” and through prior contact with Freud and analysts. We discuss the authors' intent to define themselves through their writings to allow their own voices to be heard as distinct from those of the sadists – as in analysis, to own their own history. We consider the concept of "cultural resistance" and what it means to try “to put a stone under the wheel of history." We close by describing the remarkable story of the uncovering of the hidden archive and the tragic end of Emmanuel Ringelblum. In addition, Sam shares with us aspects of his personal story that has led him to this labor of love. Our Guest: Samuel Kassow, PhD, Charles Northam Professor of History at Trinity College, is the author of many studies on Russian and Jewish history including Who Will Write Our History: Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw Ghetto, which was translated into eight languages and made into a film, as well as Volume 9 of the Posen Anthology of Jewish Culture, published by Yale in 2019. He was part of the scholarly team that planned the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and is currently engaged in a project organized by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem to write a history of the Holocaust in Poland. He has been a visiting professor at several universities including Harvard, Toronto and Dartmouth. Professor Kassow holds a Ph.D from Princeton. Recommended Readings: Samuel Kassow Who will write our History: Emanuel Ringelblum and the Oyneg Shabes Archive(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007) Israel Gutman, Emanuel Ringelblum: the Man and the Historian (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 2010) Natalia Aleksiun, Conscious History: Polish Jewish Historians before the Holocaust (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2021) Cecile Kuznitz YIVO and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture (Cambridge University Press: 2014) Social Science as a “Weapon of the Weak”: Max Weinreich, the Yiddish Scientific Institute, and the Study of Culture, Personality, and Prejudice Author(s): Leila ZenderlandSource: Isis , Vol. 104, No. 4 (December 2013), pp. 742-772. Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society
This week, we are returning to the work of the recent Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain. In 2017, the actress headlined the adaptation of the popular non-fiction book The Zookeeper's Wife, detailing Antonina Zabinska and her husband Jan's efforts to help Polish Jews escape the Nazis by hiding them within the Warsaw Zoo. Directed by … Continue reading "191 – The Zookeeper's Wife"