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Description
According to Anti-Defamation League (ADL) research conducted in 2019, one in four Europeans and almost half of all Poles have a negative opinion of Jews. In the public arena, including in the state media and election campaigns, there are anti-Semitic themes aimed among other things at winning over voters. Under the project, a portal will be developed on the subject of the Jewish community, Jewish.pl. The information posted on the site will show the life of Jews in Poland and in Israel. This will mainly be news about daily life, but also history and culture. The project will increase the number of articles published on the portal. The target group will be anyone interested in the Jewish community who has access to the Internet, at least 60 000 current users. The project will result in open access to up-to-date and unprejudiced information about Jews, in the present and past. Through the portal, we will show the Jewish world the way it is, challenging the prevailing narrative. In our view, these measures will empower members of the Jewish community and provide accurate information for people interested in learning about Jewish life.
Summary of project results
A survey conducted by the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) in 2019 revealed that one in four Europeans, and almost half of all Poles, have a negative view of Jews. Public statements, including in the state media and during election campaigns, contain anti-Semitic themes based on untrue information, with a view to gaining new voters and for other purposes. In Poland, the activities of certain elements of the media and nationalist organisations and institutions only reinforce this message.
The website Jewish.pl, which has been set up to counteract this narrative, was expanded during this project. We involved journalists, historians, and people associated with the Jewish community and with institutions that deal with Jewish history and culture, in the expansion of the website. The project featured articles, reviews, feuilletons, and commentary on issues concerning the Jewish community. Historical texts never before published in Polish have now been translated from Yiddish into Polish.270 original articles were written, and Perec Granatsztejn’s book People from the Past was translated from Yiddish into Polish and published in 17 parts. Six videos were also made in the project, available on our YouTube channel. 221 031 people visited the site over the course of the entire year, which is approximately 18 400 people per month on average.
The project has resulted in open access for all to up-to-date and unprejudiced information about Jews, in the present and in the past. Through the website, we were able to show the Jewish world as it is, while opposing the prevailing narrative that is being imposed. These activities strengthened members of the Jewish community and provided reliable information for those interested in the Jewish way of life. The articles posted on the site also reached journalists and media, Polish and foreign alike.