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Reaction of Polish society to the Arab-Israeli war

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'The Polish Jews have defeated the Russian Arabs'
Jan Józef Lipski Social activist
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It was 1967. A lot happened in '67. Apart from anything else, if I remember correctly, it was the year there was a war in the Middle East, and something was let loose which foretold the madness of '68. In any case, it was in '67 at a trade unions congress that Gomułka spoke of the fifth column and of Zionists. This kind of inference had already appeared in the press reports of various PZPR [Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (Polish United Workers' Party)] activist's speeches. This time it was said... this time it was laid out very clearly but from an odd platform since it was a trade unions rally. It all looked very unpleasant and alarming and was set against the backdrop of a massive euphoria which erupted when Israel defeated the Arabs. This euphoria was varied. From reading the press, which referred back to this again in '68, you got the impression that various Jews in Warsaw or actually throughout Poland were delighted that their countrymen were winning while they themselves represented the fifth column of Zionism here in Poland, and so their euphoria was because they'd let their guard down a little and were showing their delight. In reality, it wasn't quite like that and anyway, it's little wonder that people of Jewish descent or Jews – in this case perhaps that's not so important – that when it looked like there was going to be slaughter in Israel... Shukeiri had said, ‘We'll throw the Jews into the sea, if there's anyone left to throw in’. Well, that was a very interesting prediction – Shukeiri was Arafat's predecessor and I'd say he was even more radical in his speeches and politically more stupid than Arafat. He was over there in Egypt coming out with that sort of stuff. I have to say, you don't need to be Jewish to be alarmed at what might happen in Israel. And so, when everyone heard that they'd defeated their enemy, the rejoicing went beyond those circles which either because of their origins or because they had a relative in Israel might have been interested in the outcome. I remember that I became quite euphoric myself as did many of my friends, and a saying that went around so that even drivers were saying it, that the Polish Jews have defeated the Russian Arabs – this is a fairly accurate indication of the general atmosphere in the street, as well.

Rok '67... Bardzo wiele się działo w roku '67. No, była to przede wszystkim o ile pamiętam...rok wojny na Bliskim Wschodzie. No, rozpętało się wtedy coś, co zapowiadało ten szał roku '68. W każdym razie to w '67 roku Gomułka na kongresie związków zawodowych powiedział o piątej kolumnie, no i... i o syjonistach. Tego rodzaju akcenty już się w prasie i wypowiedziach różnych działaczy PZPR-owskich zdarzały i przed tym. To zostało powiedziane bardzo... tym razem bardzo dobitnie i to z dziwnej trybuny, jaką jest zjazd związków zawodowych. Wyglądało to bardzo nieprzyjemnie i alarmująco, a wszystko to było na tle takiej wielkiej euforii, która wybuchła w momencie, kiedy się okazało, że Izrael pobił Arabów. I ta euforia była bardzo różnego rodzaju. Jak się by czytało tę prasę, która po tym jeszcze w '68 roku do tego wracała, to robiło wrażenie, że po prostu różni Żydzi w Warszawie, czy w ogóle w Polsce, uradowani tutaj, że ich rodacy zwyciężają, a oni sami stanowili przecież tutaj piątą kolumnę syjonizmu tutaj w Polsce; to, że to oni, ta euforia to polegała na tym, że oni tutaj sobie popuścili już jakoś i okazali tę swoją radość. No, w praktyce to wyglądało może niezupełnie tak, to znaczy po pierwsze ja się nie dziwię ludziom żydowskiego pochodzenia czy Żydom – tam akurat w tym wypadku to nie jest może takie istotne – że jak zanosiło się przez... w pewnym momencie, że tam dojdzie do jakiejś strasznej rzezi w Izraelu. Szukeiri powiedział, że „wyrzucimy Żydów do morza, jeżeli będzie jeszcze kogo wyrzucać”. No to taka zapowiedź bardzo ciekawa. Szukeiri był to poprzednik Arafata i powiedziałbym, że nawet radykalniejszy może w swoich różnych wypowiedziach i głupszy nawet pewnie politycznie od Arafata. Siedział w Egipcie i takie...wykrzykiwał tego rodzaju rzeczy, no to muszę powiedzieć, że nie trzeba być Żydem, żeby być przerażonym tym, co może się w tym Izraelu stać. Toteż po tym, gdy się okazało, że oni pobili, no to radość znacznie przekraczała te kręgi, które bądź swoim pochodzeniem, bądź tym, że mają kogoś bliskiego w Izraelu, mogły być jakoś tym zainteresowane. No ja pamiętam, że ja też wpadłem w euforię i wielu moich przyjaciół wpadło w euforię; a takie...obiegowym powiedzonkiem, które można było usłyszeć nawet od szofera czy coś takiego, że „polskie Żydki pobiły ruskich Arabów”, no dosyć dobrze też nastrój ulicy jakoś pokazuje.

Jan Józef Lipski (1926-1991) was one of Poland's best known political activists. He was also a writer and a literary critic. As a soldier in the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. In 1976, following worker protests, he co-founded the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR). His active opposition to Poland's communist authorities led to his arrest and imprisonment on several occasions. In 1987, he re-established and headed the Polish Socialist Party. Two years later, he was elected to the Polish Senate. He died in 1991 while still in office. For his significant work, Lipski was honoured with the Cross of the Valorous (Krzyż Walecznych), posthumously with the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1991) and with the highest Polish decoration, the Order of the White Eagle (2006).

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki Marcel Łoziński

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Film director Marcel Łoziński was born in Paris in 1940. He graduated from the Film Directing Department of the National School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź in 1971. In 1994, he was nominated for an American Academy Award and a European Film Academy Award for the documentary, 89 mm from Europe. Since 1995, he has been a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science awarding Oscars. He lectured at the FEMIS film school and the School of Polish Culture of Warsaw University. He ran documentary film workshops in Marseilles. Marcel Łoziński currently lectures at Andrzej Wajda’s Master School for Film Directors. He also runs the Dragon Forum, a European documentary film workshop.

Tags: Middle East, Zionist, PZPR, Polish United Workers Party, Israel, Polish Jews, Russian Arabs, Władysław Gomułka, Ahmad al-Shukeiri

Duration: 3 minutes, 38 seconds

Date story recorded: October 1989

Date story went live: 10 March 2011