JDC’s Jewish renewal bolsters Jewish life in Poland

Volunteers from the Limmud Keshet conference in 2014. /JDC

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Most of us are familiar with the model of Jewish Community Centers in the United States. There’s usually a fitness center, after-school programs, a preschool, Jewish programming for people of all ages, and ways for members to connect and invest in their Jewish community. We have one in our own community – the Jewish Alliance’s Dwares JCC, in Providence.

What most people don’t know is that there are Jewish Community Centers overseas as well, including one in Warsaw, the capital of Poland.

Before World War II, Poland was home to the largest Jewish community in the world, 3.3 million Jews. During the Holocaust, the Nazis decimated nearly that entire population, ravaging a historic and grand Jewish civilization with synagogues, schools, theaters, youth groups, hospitals, summer camps, Zionist clubs, rabbinic dynasties, artists, writers, doctors and many others.

Today, in a miraculous revival, Poland boasts an estimated 25,000 Jews who are embracing their identity, and thriving, despite their tragic history. This is mostly because of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

Overseas, the JDC not only helps to ensure the well-being of impoverished elderly and other vulnerable Jews, it also works with Polish Jews, and tens of thousands of other Jews in Europe and the former Soviet Union, to help them reconnect to Judaism on their own terms, create innovative spaces to express their Jewish identity, and secure their future together across the vast spectrum of religious denominations in a pluralistic spirit.

In 2013, the JDC helped launch the Jewish Community Center in Warsaw, which has helped bolster the revitalization of Jewish life in Poland. The JCC welcomes more than 300 Jews every week to take advantage of all the programming it has to offer. There is community and holiday programming, educational opportunities for adults, Sunday school, kindergartens and activities for youth. In addition, the JCC offers summer and winter camping experiences.

One of the bigger Jewish summer camps in Poland, the JDC-supported ATID Summer Camp, draws 100 participants, including 30 teens, for 10 days of workshops, singing, art activities, Jewish dance and cultural classes. Additionally, Polish Jewish teens also travel and take part in the JDC/Lauder International Jewish Summer Camp in Szarvas, Hungary, a creative, informal Jewish educational environment that combines Jewish activities with recreation and camping. For many, the camp is their introduction to Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

Additionally, the Polish Jewish community’s largest event for nearly the past decade, Limmud Keshet, offers 100 workshops, lectures and discussions for over 700 participants, enhancing the Jewish communal spirit in the country for Jews of all ages, affiliated and unaffiliated. This year, Limmud Keshet — founded and supported by JDC — will take place in March. The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is a proud co-sponsor of this impactful program.

The JCC is also important in developing Jewish leaders in Poland. The center offers training programs for Jewish community leaders, like Madrich Training, a series of seminars that teach leadership skills to youth counselors  and help increase their overall knowledge of Judaism and Jewish life among young adults. There is also the Hanukkah caravan, which sends young Jewish leaders around Poland to present Jewish educational programs in communities that have limited access to Jewish programming.

Polish Jews have seen how the revitalization of their Jewish heritage has impacted their youth. One of their emerging leaders, “Michael,” has been able to take advantage of all the JCC has to offer. First he was a camper at the ATID Jewish Summer Camp, and now is a participant in the leadership training program, as well as a camp counselor. He also volunteers in Warsaw’s Boker Tov program, where dozens of community members enjoy a brunch together every week; the Urban Roof Gardening project, which supplies some of the vegetables for those brunches; and Israel Day at the JCC. He is also heavily involved with Children’s Day, a family fun fair sponsored by the JCC in Warsaw and the Jewish community.

The hope is that Michael will be an inspiration for younger Jews, like 13-year-old “Teo,” who said on his return from ATID summer camp, “This was my first time at ATID … I learned many Jewish prayers and I also learned about Jewish leaders.”

You have made, and can continue to make, a difference in the lives of young Jews like Michael and Teo. Your donation to the Annual Campaign will help Polish Jews get back in touch with their Jewish roots and strengthen the global Jewish community.

HILLARY SCHULMAN is a development associate in philanthropy at the Jewish Alliance.