Voice of the Jewish News: Poland punished ‘Jewish envoy’ for stating self-evident truth
Jaroslaw Marek Nowak, appointed just six months ago to improve relations with Jewish community, was sacked after telling Jewish News his country’s Holocaust law is ‘stupid’
Few readers of this newspaper would argue that Jaroslaw Marek Nowak, the man appointed by Poland’s government to improve its relations with world Jewry, deserved to lose his job last weekend. Of course, few of our readers are likely to be hardline Polish nationalists.
Our interview with Nowak last week – he was dismissed by the Polish foreign minister hours after it appeared online – was not the first time this publication has clashed with the populist forces that govern Poland.
It has only been a few years since we were served legal papers for using the term “Polish” in an article about the death camp at Auschwitz.
And we are not alone.
In recent years Polish historians have been ordered to apologise for their research. Countless Jewish victims of the Holocaust and their relatives have been belittled, simply for wanting the authorities to recognise the horrors inflicted upon them during the Second World War.
Regardless of what today’s populists might say, most outsiders are well aware of how much the Polish people have suffered in the 20th century. They endured both Nazi and Soviet occupation – initially as a Damocletian threat, then as a horrific reality.
Millions of those Poles were Jews who were wiped out.
Before the war, Poland was home to Europe’s largest Jewish population and so it is no coincidence that more Gentile Poles than any other nationality have since been recognised as Righteous Among the Nations.
They heroically helped their Jewish compatriots evade calamity at great risk to their own lives.
It would be foolish to argue no Pole chose the alternative path by actively betraying Jews and aiding the occupiers.
Yet that is what today’s Polish populists seek to do.
Jaroslaw Marek Nowak’s crime was to call them out for it.
His dismissal leaves world Jewry with little to hope that its relations with Poland can improve.
Read more:
- EXCLUSIVE: Poland’s envoy for Jews says its Holocaust law is ‘stupid’
- Poland FIRES its envoy for Jews after ‘Holocaust law’ interview with Jewish News
- Campaigners attack ‘shameful’ dismissal of Poland’s Jewish envoy
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
