Krakow city official says good-luck figurines of Jews are ‘antisemitic’ and should not be sold
(JTA) — A spokesperson for the city of Krakow, Poland, condemned as antisemitic the figurines of Orthodox Jews that are on sale as good luck charms there.
“This figurine is anti-Semitic and it’s time for us to realize it,” Robert Piaskowski, the city’s alderman for cultural affairs, was quoted as saying during a meeting Thursday by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. “In a city like Krakow, with such a difficult heritage and a painful past, it should not be sold.”
The statement follows a campaign by some Polish Jews to stop the sale of the figurines, which some locals treat as charms for increasing revenues. Many variation of the figurines and paintings of Orthodox Jews that are sold in Polish marketplaces and beyond have elements pertaining to money – typically the Jew depicted is counting money.
One of the Krakow activists leading talks with the municipality on the issue is Michael Rubinfeld, a Canada-born actor who has made several artworks and displays critical of the custom, which he finds offensive. Rubinfeld, a founder of the FestivALT organization and arts festival, also was involved in the talks with Piaskowski.
Advocates of the custom say it reflects nostalgia toward Jewish presence in Poland, where 3.3 million Jews lived before the Holocaust. Poland now has about 4,500 people who identify as Jewish and approximately 7,000 with at least one Jewish parent, according to a 2020 demographic study of European Jewry.
The city may deny market concessions to vendors who sell the Jewish figurines, according to Salon24.
The post Krakow city official says good-luck figurines of Jews are ‘antisemitic’ and should not be sold appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.