Anti-Semitism without Jews

[Behind the Aegis]

There is a double paradox in Poland today - Jewish revival without Jews and anti-Semitism without Jews. The Krakow Jewish festival is being held for the 16th time this year and organizers expect more than 10,000 people to attend its closing concert on Saturday night.

Almost nothing of Krakow's glorious Jewish past remains, yet the festival it hosts has become the most colorful and talked about Jewish cultural event in Europe, attracting many tourists from all over the world.

This year the festival is marked by the concern and confusion raised by several anti-Semitic utterances and incidents over the past year. These coincided with the rise to power of right-wing parties, replacing left-wing president, Alexander Kwasniewski after a decade in office.

A few months ago President Lech Kaczynski, of the conservative Law and Justice party, added the nationalist right-wing parties League of Polish Families and Self-Defense Party to the coalition. Both these parties have a record of anti-Semitic utterances and displays of intolerance toward other minorities. They objected to Poland's joining the European Union and support the nationalist Catholic radio station Maria, which is known for its anti-Semitic broadcasts and Holocaust denial.


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