Menorah Lit at Polish Parliament
This was a long time coming. As a great-granddaughter of Polish Immigrants who ran from religious persecution - this is wonderful event. A light of hope in some dim times for the Jewish people.
Może Bóg Przynoszą Pokój do *Jews* Polski
The Jewish community in Poland made history last week when Vice President Jaroslaw Kalinowski hosted a Chanukah menorah lighting in the Sejm, the Polish parliament. Poland has had a mixed history in its relationship with the Jews who settled there since the Dark Ages.
Kalinowski lit the shamash candle last Monday night accompanied by Rabbi Shalom Stambler, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Poland who organized the event, Chabad.org reported via Catholic World News Friday.
"It is highly symbolic for Jews and non-Jews alike that the Chanukah candles could be illuminated from the very halls from which Polish laws are made," said Stambler.
Jewish leaders noted that of late Poland has had a "public fascination" with Jewish life, which pales in comparison to the pre-World War II years. Then, Poland was home to the world's largest Jewish population of some 3.5 million people; but after some 3 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, the current number of Jews living in Poland are estimated at 8,000 and 12,000.
Kalinowski praised the work Jewish organisations like Chabad-Lubavitch have been doing to promote a renaissance of Jewish life in Poland. "For me, it is a wonderful sign of our democracy that Jews have again begun calling Poland their home. I hope that this first-ever, historical lighting of candles in the Sejm will be a sign to all Jews in Poland that they can live their lives here in tolerance and peace," he said.
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