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Artist imagines return to Jewish homeland (Poland)

bartana
Production Still from Bartana’s film Assassination, which imagines a Jewish leader’s assassination in Poland. Photo by Marcin Kalinski

In this year’s Biennale of Art in Venice, Poland is represented by Israeli Artist Yael Bartana. Her project grew from the idea of re-birth of Jewish nation in Land of Vistual River [i.e., Poland]

From an art publication‘s description of Bartana’s imaginary work:

‘We long to write new pages into a history that never quite took the course we wanted.’

So reads part of the manifesto of the [fictional] Jewish Renaissance Movement in Poland that could be collected from the Polish pavilion in Venice this year. The three [Bartana’ films that form the main content of the pavilion chart the rise of this organisation (in Mary Kozsmary, 2007), the successful establishment of its followers (in Mur I Weizar, 2009) and the assassination of its leader Slawomir Sierakowski (in Zamach, 2011).

The manifesto and the first film in the trilogy are expressions of the Zionist hope for Jews to return to their homeland (i.e. Israel), but transposed to Poland. In Mary Kozsmary the young Polish activist Slawomir Sierakowski calls for the three million Jews who left Poland as a result of WWII to re-settle in his country. One culture, one religion is no longer enough for the country they left, and only a repopulation will resolve the atrocities committed in the past.

( h/t to dumvitaestspesest)

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Poland and Germany once again both welcomed and attracted Jews, to “return” from their exile in Israel? That would not erase the Holocaust, but somehow put it to a kind of rest.

It would also, if the re-immigration were large enough, put the lie to the idea of Israel as the only (or even the essential) safe place for Jews to live.

Be nice if Poland and Germany LOUDLY said “sorry” to the returning Jews and if the latter LOUDLY said “sorry” to the Palestinians they’d displaced.

“the three million Jews who left Poland as a result of WWII”

Most of them were murdered by the Germans in Poland. The Zionists only got the remnants of the community.

Perhaps this is not the place for the this comment, but the discussion of Poland brought to mind German films from occupied parts of Poland in World War I. Polish Jews cheering the arrival of German troop trains who I suspect they hoped would save them from the excesses of their lives amongst Polish Catholics? Something I understand!
From an American perspective and an unwilling son of the Jim Crow south, in hindsight I will admit, I think I would have preferred, life as a German or Polish Jew as opposed to life as a black person in say South Carolina, Alabama or Mississippi until maybe 1940.
No doubt about it, I would have wanted to be an American or European Jew way before being black during any of the previous decades. German Jews were well integrated and very successful until the late 30’s compared to minorities in this country for many decades if not centuries. European Jews were inconvenienced at most, in comparison.
Forget the late 19th Century in America, I’m not sure anyone here could have survived the walk to Oklahoma or the North, a few did. I’m not a grass eater. Well, not so far, never been that hungry. A bit worse than “The Color Purple”. But I did see those parts of this country as a white child from the perspective of a secret(a necessity), non-racist family in the 1950’s. A National “Crystal-Nacht” was not possible, nor necessary in America then because there were few if any successful black endeavors to destroy as they were completely under the thumb. The few that sprung up over time were crushed immediately or co-opted by the Klan. It was never possible because they couldn’t pass. No way out for “time immemorial”. It was simply never allowed to get started. I have several successful Jewish stories in my family that managed in that time period in the south, quite nicely.
The Jews complain of what was lost in Europe, American blacks never had any of that to lose, but the Jewish media focus is always, constantly what European Jews lost in a few years of massive worldwide turmoil? There were others as well, everywhere.
The woods in the South (and the North I imagine are next) are full of yet to be discovered Plantation system black graves that will easily number in the hundreds of thousands or more, if your counting? They’ve found quite a few larger than expected graveyards lately, the chain gang, plantation prison system with decades, centuries of victims, but the constant drumbeat is a couple of years in Europe where everyone was dying like flies(or was it fleas or lead)?
This is Jewish Hollywood’s deal with the American Devil. We ignore your victims if you concentrate on ours. Comfortable, isn’t it. We have our own American Holocausts, but American media discounts them completely in comparison, while promoting wild stories of the greatest evil beast, the Germans. If the war had not intervened, the Nazis would probably been successful in forcing the Jews to leave(a bad idea), but they had their own problems with many bad strategies, especially from 1917 to 1945. The Germans were a very abused people as a consequence of WW1, their own Holocaust. One nasty event does seem to spawn another, don’t you think?
Sometimes, I think Modoweisser’s get entirely too focused on the the Hasbara comment of moment which provides the IDF Hasbara Corporals(and other terrified children) with their opportunity to distract from history’s narrative. It takes way too much energy to dispute their talking points and what’s the point? Their deluded fanatics, at best.

Phil, an ignore button please? A Mondoweiss BDS effort of a sort. Hitting the ignore button is definitely a statement. For all of you that would have put me on ignore, if you could, I will be leaving as I seem to have drawn some attention lately. It’s only prudent.
Hej! Tumta