Transcript
[TEXT ON SCREEN: Jewish migrations to Warsaw.]
SPEAKER 1:
Migrations are now often considered as something negative, especially for the countries that are welcoming migrants. We are now in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, a city historically regarded as an asylum for religious immigrants, Jews in particular.
But is people’s attitude towards other religions still positive now?
We’ll ask students and people on the streets of Warsaw what they think about religious immigrants and if they could find refuge in Warsaw.
Hello.
INTERVIEWEE 1:
Hello.
SPEAKER 1:
I would like to ask you a few questions. What would you think if new synagogues were built in Warsaw?
INTERVIEWEE 1:
I think it’s a very good idea, because then the Jewish community could practise their religion freely and feel more at home both in Warsaw, and in Polish society as such.
INTERVIEWEE 2:
I certainly wouldn’t be opposed! As a multicultural city, Warsaw has a lot of space where all cultures and religions should have the right to establish their own religious and cultural spheres, and to cover them with their own artefacts. This should all be possible for respecting religious diversity and heterogeneity.
INTERVIEWEE 3:
It wouldn’t be a problem at all. Especially because there aren’t enough synagogues in Warsaw compared to the number of Catholic churches.
SPEAKER 2:
All respondents wouldn’t oppose new synagogues in Warsaw. Over centuries, religious migrations were a common phenomenon. Many Jewish immigrants came to Poland, at that time considered an asylum for people of diverse religious beliefs, and established new synagogues.
SPEAKER 1:
Are you aware of how many synagogues there are in Warsaw now and how many there were in the past?
INTERVIEWEE 4:
Honestly, I have no idea because…
SPEAKER 1:
You have never thought about it?
INTERVIEWEE 4:
I haven’t.
SPEAKER 1:
Right, I see.
INTERVIEWEE 3:
Well, yes, there were of course much more synagogues in the past, for historical reasons. Now these remaining buildings are not enough to accommodate the needs of the Jewish community, which exists in Warsaw and is prospering.
INTERVIEWEE 2:
I could certainly say more about the past, because I haven’t studied this topic now. I know that a synagogue is about to be built in Warsaw and that there are plans for another one. The architecture changes, but I believe this would be a place every resident of Warsaw should see. Not only churches, but also synagogues because these are monuments of our common culture, culture of Warsaw.
SPEAKER 2:
In the past, there were 440 synagogues and Jewish houses of prayer in Warsaw. There are 20 of them in Warsaw today, with only one still in operation. It is the Nozyk synagogue, which survived World War Two.
The palm located at the Jerusalem Avenue in Warsaw reminds us of the city’s Jewish history. It commemorates a Jewish settlement called the New Jerusalem, connected with the city through the Jerusalem Avenue.
SPEAKER 1:
What do you think about the level of religious toleration in Warsaw?
INTERVIEWEE 3:
It is really, really low, which you can experience when you, for example, wrap a scarf around your head to warm yourself up. And you immediately hear different comments on the street, which only tells you how much prejudice there is towards people who look even slightly different. People immediately think that this person is Muslim.
SPEAKER 1:
And therefore, a terrorist for example?
INTERVIEWEE 3:
Yes, for example. And if someone’s wearing a kippa, you will see people mocking them with weird gestures. Not to mention the situation when someone’s wearing payot.
SPEAKER 1:
I see.
INTERVIEWEE 1:
I think that there is certainly some religious toleration in Warsaw, but how high is it? I would have to think more about it, but I don’t believe it’s very high. People should get more tolerant, especially in Poland.
INTERVIEWEE 4:
I think the situation is mediocre, but Polish schools could certainly get more tolerant.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: How to increase religious toleration?]
SPEAKER 2:
As you can see, almost all interviewees believe that Warsaw could be more tolerant. We can draw inspiration from the past. For example, the Statue of Kalisz issued in 1263 granted religious privileges to the Jewish community. It was later confirmed by, amongst others, the kings Casimir III the Great and Stanislaw II August. It exempted Jews from taxes and made hurting Jews punishable under law.
SPEAKER 1:
Religious migrations are not a new phenomenon, and centuries-old vestiges of religious diversity can be easily observed in the cityscape of Warsaw. We shouldn’t oppose a similar situation now and we should be open to the Jewish community as it has been present in Warsaw for centuries.