"Jews in the Garden" New Book

 

Amazon page here

Poland will be wealthier than Britain by 2030 – it’s time we took notice: The Telegraph

 

"After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Poles were the first former Soviet country to restore democracy, free markets and the rule of law. Yet they still had a mountain to climb. In 1989, Polish workers had a GDP per capita that was just a tenth of their German counterparts.

Three decades of steady growth has wrought a miracle. The economic disparities have narrowed dramatically. Adjusted for purchasing parity, GDP per head in Poland is now £28,200 compared with £35,000 in the UK, £34,200 in France and £39,800 in Germany. At its current trajectory rate, Poland will overtake the UK by 2030.

Since the millennium, Poland’s real GDP per capita has more than doubled; by contrast, GDP per capita in Britain, France and Germany grew between 15pc and 24pc over the same period.

The truth is that living standards in places like Warsaw or Wrocław are already comparable to those in Berlin, Paris and London.

Indeed, the quality of life for young families is undoubtedly higher."

Link to article here. 

Leopoldstadt

Source

 

Last night, thanks to a kind and generous friend, I was able to see Leopoldstadt at Manhattan's Longacre Theater. I was delighted to receive this invitation because Tom Stoppard is a prominent playwright, and Leopoldstadt has been described as Stoppard's coming to terms with his Jewish ancestors' murder in the Holocaust. I've been wanting to see this play but I never thought I'd be able to afford to go.

Censorship

 I posted on Facebook about Roger Waters' anti-Semitic comments and behavior. A Facebook friend remarked that if Waters made similar comments about Muslims as he makes about Jews Waters would be condemned. The Facebook friend said that Muslims are protected but Jews are not. 

I attempted to reply. I said that "protection" depends on context. Yes, the world allows Waters to make anti-Semitic comments. But when I, a Polish Catholic, attempted to publish a responsible book like Bieganski -- that is not at all anti-Semitic, publisher after publisher, after initially expressing interest, backed out. They were afraid, and yes they told me this in so many words, that since I am Polish and Catholic (I'm really American and not the world's greatest Catholic) the book had to be suppressed. 

In other words, it's identity Bingo. 

That's all I said. 

I clicked "post" and *instantaneously* I got a notification from Facebook warning me to take down the post.

I screen-capped the post and scribbled out my message because if saying what I said, as I said it, is going to get me censored, I would prefer it not be seen. 

BTW I was chatting with three good Facebook friends who happen to be Jewish, and two live in Israel and one has lived in Israel. 

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Nazi Costume and Anne Frank Exploitation. Anti-Semitism Much?

 See New York Times coverage here

and Algemeiner coverage here

"Palestinian teens jailed for raping Polish tourist in front of partner" - Jerusalem Post

 Full story here

Poles, Jews, and the Holocaust; Filip Mazurczak, Barbara Engelking, Roman Solecki

 

On May 1, 2023, scholar, author, and translator Filip Mazurczak posted this on Facebook. I repeat it here with his permission.
 
At the end, I add a comment.