Israeli Youth from Ramat Hanegev Meets Polish. Youth in Plonsk, The Birth Place
of David Ben. Gurion. Itzhak (Izio) Rosenblum. Public. Presentation aimed at ...
Israeli Youth from Ramat Hanegev Meets Polish Youth in Plonsk, The Birth Place of David Ben Gurion Itzhak (Izio) Rosenblum Public Presentation aimed at teachers, group leaders and guides who are interested in planning encounters of this type for their students. Goals - To follow the tracks of Polish – Jewish coexistence through tales of Plonsk in the pre war era. - To create an atmosphere of mutual acceptance between Jews and Poles by using the biography of Ben Gurion as a basis for it. - To clarify the emphasis of the encounter of this type : History and holocaust or general acquaintance? Materials - Selected tales of Jews in Plonsk as were published in Jewish press in the beginning of the 20th century - Tales of the young Ben Gurion in Plonsk, taken from the biography of B.G. by Michael Bar Zohar1986 - A book Zyli Wsrod Nas ,( Lived among us – I.R.) , municipality of Plonsk, Plonsk 2001 -Slides from a meeting between Israelis and Poles that took place in Plonsk on April 2003 - Presentation of the impact that these encounters have on students participating in it. Method Part 1: The Preliminarily Stage: Description of Activities Geared by Each Side toward the Meeting in Plonsk - Forming twin municipalities between Plonsk and Ramat Hanegev, where Ben Gurion spent the last 20 years of his life - An international contest for a prize in honour of Ben Gurion that took place in Plonsk in 1996 and dedicated to Polish – Jewish shared memories and history of the 20th century - A visit of a young Polish delegation in Ramat Hanegev - A visit of the Israeli delegation to Ben Gurions' hut in the Negev at Sde Boker, before traveling to Poland and Plonsk Part 2: The Encounter in "Sienkiewicz" High School in Plonsk - The reception in a typical Polish dining hall including a typical Polish meal - Meeting of Polish and Jewish delegations in the main hall of the school
- Description of the school and its uniqueness - Description of the participants of both sides - The reception of the Israeli delegation in the main hall of the school including speeches, greetings, and a folkloric performance. - The informal phase. Part 3: At Ben Gurions' Monument in Plonsk. Telling Tales of Jewish life in Plonsk, and of the young Ben Gurion until his leaving for aliyah to Eretz Israel. Part 4: At Ben Gurions Monument in Plonsk II - A Ceremony, including a delegation of the Israeli Embassy in Poland, emphasizing our common past, values and vision for the future. Part 5: At the Monument dedicated to the Victims of the Holocaust in the Old Jewish Cemetery - A ceremony dedicated to the victims of the holocaust and tragic fate of Polish Jewry and the Jews of Plonsk. Part 6. Conclusions and Personal thoughts derived from my Experience.
Presentation Part 1; the Preliminary Stage A brief description of the town of Plonsk: Location: 60 km north-east of Warsaw Population: 23000 residents. The average age of its residents is one of the youngest in Mazowie region, A fact that gives an additional importance to this town. The local economy: Mainly agriculture and food processing companies. Plonsk was awarded by the United Nations with the title " The City –Herald of Peace" as a tribute to the tolerance and peaceful cooperation of the Polish and Jewish residents, which dates back to the beginning of the city's 600 year-long history. There is no personality other than that of David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli prime minister, who symbolizes for the residents of Plonsk, the roots of the Jewish life in this town. (About Ben Gurion and Jewish Plonsk in the past see part 3.) Plonsk, the birth place of Ben Gurion, and Ramat Hanegev, the place where he resided during the last 20 years of his life, and where he was buried, was the reason for forming Twin Municipalities between the town of Plonsk and the regional municipality of Ramat Hanegev in the year of 1998. In January 1999 following three years of planning and preparations, Plonsk hosted an international contest for a prize in honour of Ben Gurion, about Jewish – Polish coexistence during the 20th century. This contest was aimed mainly at Poles and Jews who had experienced and shared the memory of the events of the past, and at young students who learned about Polish-Jewish relations by educational means. The formula of this contest was open to any kind of historic work: testimonies, diaries,
reports, documentations etc. Patrons of this contest were the president of Poland Mr. A.Kwasniewski, the renowned Polish sociologist Prof. J.Szczepanski, the Israeli embassy, the American embassy, and other prominent people and institutions. All in all 108 participants took part in this contest from 15 different countries. The final celebration of this contest took place in September 1999. It lasted 5 days which were declared as the "Days of Polish-Jewish Culture". The Israeli participants were hosted by the students of Plonsks' schools for a whole day. During these days two monuments were inaugurated: 1. In the wall of the house standing on the birth place of David Ben Gurion, near a place where a synagogue once stood, a monument was dedicated to D. Ben Gurion. 2. In the premises of the former Jewish cemetery, a monument was unveiled, a "Lapidarium" commemorating martyrdom of the Plonsks' Jewish community. In the year 2001 a delegation of representatives and students of Plonsk visited Ramat Hanegev, and were hosted by the regional municipality and students from local kibbutzim. The Israeli delegation, youth from kibbutzim of Ramat Hanegev, has visited Plonsk five times, including one overnight visit. As preparation for these visits in Plonsk, the youth of Ramat Hanegev spent a day in Sde Boker at the museum of Ben Gurions' house, and his tomb. The purpose of this day was to become better acquainted with the figure of Ben Gurion, and to achieve a deeper understanding about the roots of Zionism which are not in Degania, or in the Jordan valley, but rather in a typical Polish town like Plonsk. Part 2: The Encounter in the School: We enter a typical post war town with its straight streets and square apartment buildings on a grey cloudy day, which supports our stereotypes about Poland. We enter the building of "Sienkiewicz" school which resembles the other buildings around. Then we enter a small dining hall, and again all those typical memories of Poland come back to our mind, this time in a positive way. Something in the air reminds us of the stories that we've heard at home, or have read in books. We see one big, heavy and wide table set with typical old fashioned Polish dishes with glasses filled with hot tea, Polish fruits and cakes already on the table, of course a pot of hot tomato soup and chicken with potatoes as a main dish. The large windows are covered with big white corselet curtains, outdated pictures on the wall, and the ladies from the kitchen whose appearance reminds us of our grandmothers. Everything looks and smells Polish, and at the same time so Jewish (European).
After lunch we enter the main hall of the school. Our hosting students await us sitting in their chairs, scattered all over the hall in such a way that between every small group there are few empty seats for our participants to intentionally encourage integration. We can see the difference in the physical appearance between the Poles and us. They (most of them, not all of them) are dressed in their representative school uniform which includes a sport suit for boys and girls, and skirts for the girls. Our students are dressed in their journey clothes – mainly jeans and sweatshirts with different colours and forms. These differences are noticeably the same between the school personnel and our staff. The school was represented by headmaster, and another person who is responsible for the international relations and the students exchange programs. The town was represented by the mayor himself. The Israeli side was also represented by the chairman of the regional municipality of Ramat Hanegev, and a representative of the Israeli embassy in Poland. In the year of 2003 it was our ambassador at that time to Poland, Mr. Shevach Veiss. The whole affair was planned by our hosts from Plonsk. It began with a formal ceremony, consisting of speeches and blessings given by school representatives, and mayor of the town, responded by the Israeli ambassador, the chairman of Ramat Hanegev municipality, and one of the delegation leaders. The speeches were in English or Polish translated when necessary. In all the speeches Ben Gurion was mentioned as a link between us all. Also, the little gifts that were exchanged between us related somehow to Ben Gurion. One time, in 1999, on our first visit to Plonsk, we were guests at the elementary school in town. We were greeted by the entire school in the main hall where a folkloric program of dancing and singing was performed for us. Ben Gurion as a common heroe was mentioned here too.
In 2000 we stayed overnight, and spent an evening together with our hosts in a local discotheque. Of course, everything was planned in advance, including deliberately emphasizing Ben Gurion in the speeches. After seeing the size of the town, and realizing its marginal part in Polish and general history, we can understand why they are so proud of the fact that such a historical figure like Ben Gurion was born in their town. A friend of mine, a teacher who had stayed for half a year in Plonsk on a Sabbatical, heard from a retired physicist there that for him, Ben Gurions' birth in Plonsk is far more important than Henryk Sienkiewicz brief sojourn there! What kind of a school is it? The "Sienkiewicz" school is named after the very famous Polish writer, Nobel Prize winner, Henryk Sienkiewicz ("Quo Vadis"). It is part of the UNICEF program to promote peace and tolerance in the world by encouraging programs for the exchange of students, foreign languages and culture studies. It is a selective school, and there are many students from out of town who stay in the dormitory of the school. They visit other schools in Holland, Germany, Croatia, France etc. and host students from these schools in return. There are specific projects that have been created as a result of these visits. After the formal opening there was time for free talk among the students, in English. Did they meet our expectations? We, the leaders of the delegation had been planning a guided talk within the framework of these small groups that had been formed, but our hosts had planned an open chat, which had to follow. What were our student's expectations? (The findings are not based on scientific review, but on an exchange of views with our participants.) Our students expected first of all to socialize, then to gain some insight into the way of life of contemporary Polish youth, and lastly history and Holocaust. There were few who tried to raise the subject of the holocaust, but they felt immediately the confusion that it had aroused among the Poles. They also got the impression that their Polish counterparts had very little knowledge about that period. What did they talk about? Mainly typical youth talk: Contemporary music, fashion, sports (onetime they had organized a spontaneous soccer game), personal plans for the future. They also discussed current events, for example, how is it living under the threat of homicide bombers. The group that had stayed overnight, as mentioned above, were dancing and socializing in a discotheque just to discover that they dance the same dances along with the same music - it's the MTV generation! Later on that night, some of the Polish students whom they had met on their visit to Ramat Hanegev the previous year came especially to see them at the hotel. About their general impression from that encounter in the school see part 6. Part 3-4 At Ben Gurions' Monument. At the place where once stood the house where Ben Gurion was born, there is a "Tree of Memory", and a modest monument dedicated to the commemoration of Ben Gurion . The "Tree of Memory" is a metal tree shaped like a weeping willow. "Leaves of Memories" are hung upon that "Tree" by members of all Israeli delegations from Ramat Hanegev visiting Plonsk , to symbolize the ties between the two communities
On the way to the monument the delegation passed by the tenement house in the old square of town, which was considered in the past to be the house where Ben Gurion grew up. There is a commemorative table on the wall mentioning it. In the corner of this building there is a luncheon named "Bengurionowka" where you can order Jewish traditional sweets for desert. A visit in this place consist two parts:
1. Jewish tales of Plonsk, and tales of young Ben Gurion in Plonsk .From these tales the listener can have a glimpse into the way of life of the prewar Jewish community and its values. The tales about The young Ben Gurion in Plonsk will take us back in time into the early days of Zionism in Poland. These tales can be told in English to the Polish students too. Tales are selected from " Pinkas Kehilot" And the biography of Ben Gurion by M. Bar Zohar 2. The Official Part. A ceremony was celebrated together with Polish and Israeli delegations, emphasizing the Jewish life in prewar Poland and coexistence with the Polish community, in a town which half of its population in the prewar era was Jewish. The text of the ceremony related also to the visions for the future. Part 5. At the Holocaust Monument at the Premises of the Jewish Cemetery. Brief historical background of the holocaust period in Plonsk. Ceremony dedicated to the victims of the holocaust.
Part 6 : Conclusions. The Formal and Ceremonial Part of Our Visit. We have to consider 4 different factors: Time, Participants, Place and Subject. Time: the entire program in Plonsk is limited in time, which means that prolonging the official ceremony shortens the time for conversation and acquaintance. Since the prominent participants tend to prolong their greetings and speeches, and since that part of the encounter is not the most attractive to our students, it was a matter for their complaints. Participants: Who should participate? Should it be students with their teachers and guides only, or should the prominent representatives be involved to. The students while complaining about the speeches, on the other hand have mentioned that the participation of the prominent participants, set a different dimension to that encounter, and made it more symbolic and important. Especially they were
impressed by the fact that the Poles participated in the ceremonies at Ben Gurions' and holocaust monuments. They saw it as an act of solidarity with us. What is the dress code for such an encounter? The prominent representatives came dressed in a formal suit. The Polish students were dressed in their school uniform, or with nice informal clothing. The Israelis, being on a journey, were dressed completely informally with jeans and sweatshirts. Only during the time of the ceremony the Israelis put on their trip sweatshirt. Is it the right way? In my opinion this matter should be reconsidered.
How were our students impressed by the Polish students dressing and behavior? Well some of them felt that it was respectful and serious, but others thought that it was not by their free choice, but was an imposed appearance, and that their respect for the teachers didn't actually reflect their true attitude; they know this, so they say, from what they have heard informally from the Polish students themselves. Also, said our students, the Polish students have participated on selective basis , so that unlike the Israelis, they are not really representing the average Polish student. Place: The town of Plonsk; symbolically is an excellent choice, But apart from it, the students have mentioned that it reflects a boring unattractive place, unlike Tykocin (a place on their rout), which reminds them of the image of a Jewish shteitl. The school itself: While the building did not impress our students (old fashion and grey), the posters on the walls, (Ben Gurions' poster, UNICEF programs on the board etc), gave an impression of a unique and friendly place. The Polish meal itself also created a very friendly atmosphere. The smell of the Polish kitchen and its similarity to Jewish kitchen had created the feeling of common roots. The setting of the hall served effectively the purpose of the ceremonial and the social segment of our encounter. There was a stage for the formal part, and the sitting arrangement served the purpose of "ice breaking". Subject: What should be the main focus of the encounter? On cultural and social aspects? On Ben Gurion and common historical roots? On holocaust?
The students of both sides preferred the socializing part, chatting, playing soccer or dancing in the disco. It was not because they had disregard for the importance of the historical and national subjects, but simply because it was nicer and easier to deal with. And probably as youngsters they are more occupied with their contemporary life and their future, rather than in the past. Israelis, who did try to talk about the holocaust period, felt confusion from their Polish counterpart. They also realized how little the Poles knew about it. They discovered that the Polish students were not as proficient as they are which made it even harder to have a deep conversation. My friend, a teacher who was on Sabbatical year in Sienkiewicze school in Plonsk wrote to me about his impression about this matter saying: "The pupils (of Plonsk - I.R.) all know about Ben Gurion coming from Plonsk, but like Israelis today, history isn't their strong point. Ben Gurion being dead is not going to be attractive for them". It is hard for me to agree completely with his words. I do agree that if we want to upgrade contacts, we have to think of something more than just a quick hello and perhaps a game of soccer. On the other hand, can we expect from the young high school students to go deeply into such a sensitive and complicated subject like Jewish-Polish relations in the shade of the holocaust? Can we really create the extent of openness that is required for such a subject within the limits of such a short visit? On our visit the historical and national aspects were expressed through the ceremonial acts, which have been focusing on our common history, mostly on Ben Gurions' heritage, and it had its impact. So, maybe at least for the near future, Ben Gurions' heritage and his biography will serve as a bridge that will bring our nations closer to each other, with a better understanding of each other. In the meantime, I do believe that every visit of this kind will lay the foundation for the development of mutual respect, openness and trust which will pave the way to talk about the most sensitive historical matters that are still standing between us, in the future.
