The activists demand stopping donations to the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, as well discontinuing visits and cooperative projects, after it hosted an event with a local organization who posted anti-Israel content on social media, including claims that it is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza
Jewish activists in Poland and Israel are calling to boycott a Jewish museum in Warsaw after it held a festive picnic in cooperation with an organization that has joined the anti-Israeli cry “From the river to the sea,” which some see as a call to eliminate the State of Israel.
The Jewish activists demand stopping donations to the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, as well discontinuing visits and cooperative projects.
The museum hosted an event on Saturday in honor of the Shavuot holiday in cooperation with a local activist organization called Baza. Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, following the October 7 massacre, the organization has been posting anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian content on social media.
Among other things, it shared posts claiming that Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza and that the Israel Defense Forces is committing crimes against Palestinian children and civilians.
One post shared by the organization included the logo “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”A slogan that some interpret as a call to eliminate the State of Israel.
Meir Bulka, who works to preserve the heritage of Polish Jewry, expressed shock at the event and started to collect signatures for a petition against the museum.
In a letter addressed to the museum administration, the members of the board of directors and the museum’s donors’ committee, a copy of which will be sent to Poland’s culture minister, he wrote that the organization that was a partner to the event is antisemitic, supports Hamas and calls for the elimination of the State of Israel. Bulka warned in advance against holding the event, but the museum ignored his request.
“Cooperation with those involved in a call to destroy Israel and activities that encourage terrorism and collecting money for Hamas, constitute the crossing of a red line in terms of choosing the museum’s partners.
“The fact that the museum administration decided to hold the event is a serious act that shouldn’t be passed over in silence,” according to the petition.
“In Gaza there are Israeli hostages, some of them with Polish citizenship, but the museum and Baza didn’t see fit to advocate for the release of these Polish Israelis who are being held in Gaza by the murderous Hamas organization,” wrote Bulka.
“We are relating with all seriousness to the fact that the Polin Museum didn’t act as expected of a Jewish museum, at a time when the Jewish people are subject to antisemitic attacks and the State of Israel is involved in a just war being fought for the right of the Jewish people to survive in the Land of Israel.”
Museum director, Zygmunt St?pi?ski, said in a response that “There is no and never will be a place among our partners for organizations that express support for terrorists such as Hamas,” and that “colleagues responsible for organizing the event have already spoken with the representatives of Baza and asked them to be more alert with regard to the content they share.”
St?pi?ski also emphasized the importance of intercultural dialogue and inclusivity for the museum, and that “cooperation with the non-governmental sector does not mean that we support all actions and public statements made by their representatives”.
