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Poland's New Fascination with Jews
(Boston Globe) Jeff Jacoby - More than 90% of Poland's Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, and most of those who survived emigrated long ago. The result is that a land that once was home to 3 million Jews - 10% of Polish society, the largest Jewish population in Europe - is now more than 99.9% non-Jewish. Millions of Poles have never knowingly met a Jew. I arrived in Krakow near the end of the annual Jewish Culture Festival, a nine-day extravaganza of concerts, lectures, films, and exhibitions. An elegant catalog, 160 pages long, lists a dizzying array of offerings. In Krakow, with just 200 Jews in a metropolitan population of 1.5 million, it is astounding. Jews and Jewish culture are being embraced far more ardently in their absence than was ever the case when they were such a visible presence. At the festival's closing concert, before an outdoor stage dominated by a giant electric menorah, 10,000 exuberant Poles swayed, cheered, and sang along as dozens of Jewish artists performed. The concert lasted for seven hours and was broadcast live on TV.