January 2008
The mission of this association is to commemorate Jewish
Cracow, its glorious past and the tragedy of the Holocaust during World War II.
The association acts under a broad directorship that consists of twenty members who are first-generation survivors, as well as
second-generation descendants of Cracow. The directorship is comprised of the following individuals:
- Chairperson: David Reiser
- Secretary: Lili Haber
- Treasurer: Sinai Aleksandrowicz
- Members: Aleksandrowicz
Dany, Aran Tova, Bosak Josef, Brauner Aryeh, Gross Nathan, Horowitz Chana,
Weingarten Yaakov, Weingarten Ella, Wirth Shmuel, Liberman Shoshana, Dr.
Landa Moshe, Laor Yaakov, Dr. Meltzer Imanuel, Akavia Miriam,
Kopelman-Blodek Chava, Dr. Karay Felicia, Rosenberg Linka, Ramon Eva.
The activities of the Association are run by standing committees, such as the Cultural Committee, the Comptrolling
Committee, the Stipend Committee, and Special Committees that
assemble to pursue special projects.
Annual Events
Two events are organized by the Association every year:
-
On Holocaust Memorial Day, there is a memorial ceremony for the Martyrs of the Cracow Congregation
-
On one night of Hanukah, members assemble to light candles together according to tradition.
Cooperation with Ironi ‘H’ High School in Tel Aviv
Ironi ‘H’ of Tel Aviv has adopted the Cracow Congregation and our Association has adopted the
school. Consequently, a room in the school has been dedicated to the commemoration of the Cracow Community. In this
room there are many books on the subject of the Jews of Cracow. There is also a unique model of the concentration camp of
Plazsow, built by the late Joseph Bau,
a founding member of the Association.
The Association contributes extensively to the advancement of knowledge of high school students
regarding the history of the Jewish Community of Cracow. It supplies the school with learning materials and offers stipends to
students from low-income families to help them participate in the yearly trips to Poland and
to Cracow organized by the Ministry of Education.
Stipends are also given to students who write seminar papers on the subject of Jewish Cracow as a final
project for their high school matriculation exams. Furthermore, we have recently
launched a special national project for juniors and seniors called “personal
commitment.” Students interview first generation survivors from Cracow in
their homes. Subsequently, these interviews will be collected and published in the form of a booklet, a copy of
which will be given to the family of each survivor, and which will be donated to
the school’s library.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s
Cracow Fund
This fund was established several years ago. Collaboration between representatives of the
Association and academics from the Institute for the Research of Jews of Poland
at the Hebrew University paves the way for a multitude of publications on the
topic of the Cracow Jewish community in the broader context of Jewish history in
Poland.
An example of a recent publication is Dr. Meir Balaban’s monumental book The History of the Jews
in Cracow and Kaszimiez, 1304-1868. The book has been translated from
Polish and came out in 2002 in two impressive volumes, totaling 1,000 pages.
Cooperation with the Cracow Organization in New York
The Association in Israel has been in close contact with the New York based organization New Cracow
Friendships Society ever since the establishment of the latter in 1965. In a
collaborative project between these two organizations, the New Cracow
Friendships Society contributes funds on a yearly basis towards the stipends
distributed in honor of the Martyrs of the Cracow community and the fighters of
its ghetto (see “Stipends” below).
The New Cracow Friendships Society has also launched a second-generation group. We are now
focusing on strengthening the ties between our second-generation groups in
Israel with those in New York.
Stipends
The Association of Cracovians in Israel gives stipends to research students in all fields who write
papers towards an advanced degree on Jewish Cracow.
Please feel free to
contact us at P.O. Box 17209, Tel Aviv 69051, or else contact Lili
Haber by E-Mail
