Michael Rubenfeld - The Lucky Jew of Poland
Michael Rubenfeld - Co-Founder of FestivALT
- listen to his incredible journey and great presentation (2nd December 2020).
In 2012, Canadian Jewish theatre artist, Michael Rubenfeld suggested to his mother that, together, they go to Poland “for the first time” and see the country from which their family came and the places where they survived. This trip was to serve as research for a play which they would ultimately turn into a much larger project, resulting in Michael now living in Kraków and co-founding FestivALT, an alternative arts festival.
In this exclusive ASPJ presentation, Michael Rubenfeld shares this journey and why he believes that Poland is such an important contemporary space for the Jewish people.
The ASPJ thanks all those whose hard work and effort made our second, COVID-enforced, online event so successful.
We sincerely thank Michael Rubinfeld for agreeing to share his experiences and the motivations behind FestivALT.
Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich - in Conversation
Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich
in conversation with Karen Pakula (30th September 2020).
In December 2004, Rabbi Michael Schudrich was appointed Chief Rabbi of Poland, a position which he still holds to this day.
For the four years prior to that, he served as Rabbi of Warsaw and Łódż.
Without his efforts, it is highly unlikely that the “renaissance” of Jewry in post-Communist Poland would have taken place to the level that it has. .
ASPJ is honoured that Rabbi Schudrich agreed to feature in our first, COVID-enforced, online event.
The ASPJ thanks all those whose hard work and effort made our first, COVID-enforced, online event so successful.
We sincerely thank Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich for graciously agreeing to take a time-out, from his High Holydays schedule, to participate in the event.
The ASPJ also gratefully acknowledges the continuing support which our organisation receives from the Australian Ambassador to Poland, Lloyd Brodrick, who approached us with the request that he be able to say a few words prior to “the conversation”.
2019 ASPJ Genealogy Day
2019 ASPJ Genealogy Day
Presenter: Michał Majewski
On Sunday 11th August 2019, the Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre auditorium, in Melbourne, was filled for the ASPJ’s first Genealogy Open Day featuring special guest, Polish genealogist and historian, Michał Majewski.
Having worked for the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland and with the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Michał provided the audience with valuable information about resources available to further their own family’s genealogical history.
The 2019 ASPJ Genealogy Day was made possible by the financial support of the
Poland Liaison
Poland Liaison
Orator: Professor Dariusz Stola
is committed to establishing contact at all levels with, disseminating current information about,
and assisting, in any way possible, the Jewish Community of Poland.
DO YOU OR YOUR FAMILY
HAVE ROOTS IN …
ALEKSANDRÓW KUJAWSKI
His project, “Neighbours”, is aimed at showing the contribution Jews made to the town’s culture and economy.
Zbigniew seeks to contact anyone who can provide memoirs or other documentation to help preserve the memory of this town’s Jewish community.
Please contact:
Zbigniew Sołtysiński
puszczyk.sowa@interia.eu
Tel: +48 604 270 714
GRODZISK MAZOWIECKI
Material is already on display in the town’s cultural centre.
They seek more documents, photographs, momoirs or anything that will help preserve the memory of this pre-War Jewish community.
Please contact:
Anna Grzegorzewska
anna.grzegorzewska@gmail.com
Since the fall of communism in 1989, the Jewish Community in Poland has been gradually re-emerging and, today, is enjoying a revitalisation. Some estimates put the size of the Jewish community as high as 30,000.
With a new democratic and more liberal Poland, people who had previously hidden their Jewish identity are now acknowledging themselves as Jews and, every day, more people are discovering their true background which had hitherto been hidden from them for numerous reasons.
As well as in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Łódż, Jewish communities are now active in many other cities around Poland. In Częstochowa, Lublin, Gdańsk, Poznań, Bielsko Biała, Katowice and many other places, Jewish communal activity has re-emerged and is growing.
But, unlike us in Australia, with a Jewish communal infrastructure that is the envy of the Jewish diaspora around the world, every little bit of Yiddishkeit and every stage of growth in Jewish communal life in Poland can still be a struggle.
One of our major tasks will be to support and promote the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, constructed on the site of the ghetto in Warsaw and officially opened in early 2014. Naturally, much has been established to memorialise the horrific events and consequences of the Holocaust. However, this Museum will be dedicated to documenting Jewish life in Poland over 700 years – before and after World War II. Jews contributed much to Polish society over the centuries – in science, medicine, law, literature, as artists and as educators.
This rich history must be preserved – and for that reason, the POLIN Museum is vitally important.
Polish-Jewish dialogue in Poland today is growing, particularly among the post-communist, educated young. There is a growing understanding and acceptance of the past, both the good and the bad. A new spirit of positive co-operation has emerged. Young Catholic Poles, more than ever before, are expressing an interest in the Jewish history of their country. This dialogue and interest needs to be nurtured and encouraged.
All too often today, Poland is depicted as being merely the largest Jewish graveyard in history. That is true – it IS the largest Jewish graveyard in history, But, today, it is MUCH MORE than that. It is home to a modern, growing Jewish community that will not, and should not, be ignored. We are fortunate to be living within the Australian Jewish community. However, what goes with that is an obligation to support our fellow Jews in Poland.
If you are interested in becoming involved in this part of the ASPJ’s activities, please contact Andrew Rajcher +61 (0)417 013 690 or email aragorn@axiomcs.com.au.
2019 ASPJ Oration
Inaugural & 2019 ASPJ Oration
Orator: Professor Dariusz Stola
On 3rd April 2019, an almost capacity crowd of 200 filled the hall at the Caulfield campus of Monash University
to hear our Inaugural and 2019 ASPJ Oration delivered by
Professor Dariusz Stola, Director of Warsaw’s POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
The 1968 “Anti-Zionist Campaign” in Poland and It’s Echoes Today – Polish Debates on the Holocaust
The Inaugural and 2019 ASPJ Oration was made possible by the financial support of the
Annual ASPJ Orations
Annual ASPJ Orations
In 2019, the ASPJ Board of Management decided to host an annual ASPJ Oration
to be delivered by distinguished scholars or community activists
on topics of interest to both the Jewish and Polish communities.
2019 ASPJ ORATOR
Professor Dariusz Stola
Director,
PPOLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews,
Warsaw, Poland.
To view the Inaugural & 2019 ASPJ Oration, click HERE.
Henryk Sławik Award
Henryk Sławik Award Winners
The ASPJ’s Henryk Sławik Award is bestowed upon an individual who, or organisation which, contributes to a greater understanding of the unique and dynamic contribution by the Polish Jewish community to the all-embracing Polish culture and ethos.
The Award is dedicated in memory of the great Polish diplomat, politician and humanitarian, who saved several thousand Jews between 1940 and 1944, and who was subsequently murdered in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.
2021 AWARD RECIPIENT
Arnold Zable
writer, novelist, storyteller and human rights advocate,
working to counter religious prejudices and to protect human rights
2019 AWARD RECIPIENT
Natalie Suleyman, MP
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly,
Co-Convenor of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Poland
2018 AWARD RECIPIENTS
Marian Pawlik, OAM
and the
Polish Community Council
of Victoria Inc.
2017 AWARD RECIPIENTS
Sue Hampel, OAM (left)
and
Frances Prince (right)
2016 AWARD RECIPIENT
Krzysztof Łańcucki, OAM
Past President,
Polish Commmunity Council of Victoria
2014 AWARD RECIPIENT
Pauline Rockman, OAM
Co-President,
Jewish Holocaust Centre, Melbourne
2012 AWARD RECIPIENTS
Lucyna Artymiuk (left)
and
Krystyna Duszniak (right)
2011 AWARD RECIPIENT
Dr George Łuk-Kozika, OAM
Honorary Consul-General,
Melbourne, Victoria
Republic of Poland
Speakers Panel
Speakers Panel
Our organisation is unique in Australia in that it is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the historical and cultural heritage of Jewish life in Poland and to supporting Poland’s Jewish community. We are also committed to building bridges of understanding between Australia’s Jewish and Polish communities.
Our membership includes Holocaust survivors from Poland, together with Second and Third Generation, many of whom also speak Polish and Yiddish. Also, our associate membership comprises numerous non-Jewish people of Polish background who share our organisation’s aims and objectives.
Many of our members also have an academic background and have, in the past, delivered formal lectures on numerous relevant topics. They have also chaired and/or participated in seminars and symposiums.
The ASPJ is pleased to be able to offer many of our members as Speakers for your organisation’s or company’s activity or function. Among the topics upon which we can provide Speakers are:
- The Holocaust – from a Survivor Perspective
- The Jewish Community of Poland
- Polish-Jewish Relations in Today’s Poland
- Polish-Jewish Relations in Today’s Australia
- Australia as a Haven for Polish Holocaust Survivors
- The Polish Righteous – Saving Jews From the Holocaust
While there is officially no charge for the provision of a Speaker for your event or function, the ASPJ would greatly appreciate a donation towards supporting our activities.
Our postal mailing address is: P.O. Box 56, Elsternwick Vic 3185 Australia.