Jewish Congress sees rising anti-Semitism in Poland

The European Jewish Congress expressed “grave concerns” Thursday over what it says is a rise in anti-Semitism in Poland and a “deteriorating relationship between the Polish government and the Jewish community.”

The Brussels-based organization says no Polish government minister has met with leaders of the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland, the official community, for around a year amid the rise in anti-Semitic incidents.

“Across Europe, governments consult with the local official leaders of the community to seek their counsel and coordinate a response to anti-Semitism,” the group’s president, Moshe Kantor, said. “However, Poland stands out as an example of a leadership which appears to have little interest in opening a dialogue with the Jewish community.”

The statement comes after Jewish leaders in Poland wrote to ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski in early August with their concerns, noting the increased presence in public life of extremist far-right groups and greater hate speech and violence targeting Jews.

They didn’t receive an answer or a meeting with Kaczynski, but within days Kaczynski met with several Jewish representatives from other organizations, including the Orthodox Chabad movement.

That meeting led to fears among official Jewish community representatives that Kaczynski was trying to marginalize them and whitewash the issue of anti-Semitism.

Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, said Jews still feel much safer in Poland than they do in parts of Europe where anti-Semitism is much stronger and sometimes violent, including France, Scandinavia and Hungary. But he said the situation is getting worse and “the biggest concern is a lack of communication with the government.” that they did receive tips of possible attacks from other sources that they deemed not credible enough.

Catalan regional interior chief Joaquim Forn said regional police were not warned by the CIA or the National Counterterrorism Center in the U.S. about the Aug. 17 van attack on Barcelona’s famous Las Ramblas boulevard that killed 14 people. Forn added that such warnings are typically made through state channels.

Barcelona-based El Periodico newspaper reported that the U.S. sent a warning on May 25 to regional police, specifically mentioning Las Ramblas. Other Spanish media outlets published similar stories.

Regional police senior officer Josep Lluis Trapero said there were generic warnings of an attack, including one received May 25, but he said both Spanish and Catalan authorities considered them not reliable.

He said the warnings did not come from the CIA or the NCTC but he gave no details on their source.

Forn accused El Periodico of trying to discredit the regional police.

— The Associated Press