The activities of the Abraham J. Heschel Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations, established three years ago by the Rector of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), Rev. Prof. Mirosław Kalinowski, were presented in the European Parliament during the conference “Antisemitism and the Demonization of Israel on European Campuses.” At the event in Brussels, the Director of the Center, Rev. Dr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, spoke about the popular-science projects carried out by the institution and financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, including youth exchanges, study visits to Sites of Remembrance, and media activities.
“The work that the Heschel Center at KUL is doing for Catholic-Jewish dialogue is crucial. It symbolizes hope for a better future and deserves the world’s support. Thank you for it,” emphasized Daniel Schuster, the representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Europe.
The organizers of the event, which created space for an international discussion on countering modern forms of antisemitism and on education in this area, were the Belgian Friends of Israel and the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) - an organization engaged worldwide in combating antisemitism, hatred, and intolerance. SWC also supports Holocaust education.
Dialogue in culture
Speaking about the many tasks carried out by KUL’s academic unit, Rev. Dr. Rytel-Andrianik referred to the history of Jews in Lublin. According to the 1921 Jewish census, Jews made up almost 40 percent of the city’s population.
“Before the war, Hanukkah candles shone in every third window. The war destroyed all of that, but we, as a university institution in Lublin, have three times returned to that tradition, organizing Hanukkah together with the Archdiocese of Lublin. The Bethlehem light was also burning, and there was an Advent wreath; symbols so meaningful for Christians,” recounted the Director of the Heschel Center at KUL.
Life in Place of Death
Rev. Rytel-Andrianik also spoke about the headquarters of the Heschel Center at KUL, located in the Collegium Iuridicum. During Aktion Reinhardt, this very building housed the office of Odilo Globocnik - the architect of the Holocaust and one of the main organizers and executors of the genocidal operation to exterminate the Jews.
The Role of the Media
To effectively share reliable information about remembrance and Catholic-Jewish dialogue, the Center has created an internal press team - Heschel Center News. Reliable and objective journalistic materials, on both current and historical topics and supplemented by expert commentary, are distributed to media outlets in Poland and abroad.
“The media play a very important role in shaping relations and awareness about issues as important as Catholic-Jewish dialogue across divisions,” stressed the Director of the Heschel Center. “To unite, not divide; to recognize the richness of traditions and multiculturalism. This is our mission - based not only on words, but on concrete actions,” added Rev. Dr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik.
Looking to the Future
These actions include youth exchanges, meetings between KUL students and Jewish students from the United States, and the launch of a series of educational study visits for young people to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.
The main theme of the initiative is the history of Poland and Polish Jews - from the beginnings of Polish statehood to modern times; with particular emphasis on World War II and life in the Warsaw Ghetto.
After the recent trip, the Center’s staff collected feedback from participants. The responses showed that what seems obvious to some of us remains undiscovered for younger generations.
“After spending a day in Warsaw, I learned many fascinating facts about Jews in Poland. I didn’t know they had lived in our country for so long. I didn’t realize there were so many brilliant, well-educated people among them,” said Mateusz, a student, in conversation with Heschel Center News.
Concluding his presentation at the European Parliament, the Director of the Heschel Center emphasized that the institution’s activities are financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
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Monika Stojowska