Beit Polska- The Union of Progressive Jewish Communities in Poland

Beit Polska was established in 1999 with its own house of prayer at Wiertnicza Street in Warsaw.  Besides the Beit Warszawa cultural association, the Beit Polska religious association was also established. We are a Reform community uniting supporters of the movement called Progressive Judaism – which is quite strong in many countries across the world (USA, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and others). Before the war Jews representing a similar movement were gathered among others around the Great Synagogue at Tłomackie (blown up by the Germans in 1943) and Reform synagogues in Kraków, Lviv and Łódź. Beit Polska organizes Shabbat services, Jewish Festivals in accordance with the principles of Progressive Judaism, Hebrew lessons and a weekend school for children Szabat Gam Yachad. The life of our communities is enriched by numerous lectures given by historians, talks with invited guests, concerts and painting exhibitions.

In subsequent years Beit Polska became an “umbrella” organization for newly established congregations.

Responding to the challenges present in the field of combating antisemitism and other manifestations of racism, the organizations Beit Polska – The Union of Progressive Jewish Communities, The Jewish Association Czulent and the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia (KIK), with the support of the Jewish Religious Community in Warsaw, as part of the project Combating antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. Promoting IHRA’s operational definition of anti-Semitism in Poland have undertaken actions to raise social awareness about antisemitism.

The aim of the project is the promotion of educational and research tools for defining antisemitism by promoting the operational definition of antisemitism and implementing it into educational activities. The implementation of the definition can make it easier for non-governmental organizations, law-enforcement agencies and national and local governmental authorities to monitor hate crimes.

As part of the project the below initiatives were carried out:

• A publication Definicja Antysemityzmu Międzynarodowego Sojuszu Pamięci o Holokauście [The Definition of anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance].
• An article in the Magazyn Kontakt magazine: https://magazynkontakt.pl/antysemityzm-nasz-powszedni/

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