Obituaries Obituaries are updated and archived on thejewishnews.com A Friend Of Jews And Israel Dinah Spritzer Jewish Telegraphic Agency F or Jews, Poland's late president, Lech Kaczynski, was a man of many firsts. He was the first Polish president to attend a service at a Polish synagogue, the first to celebrate Chanukah at the presidential palace, the first Polish leader to provide support for a Jewish history museum on Polish soil. His death in Saturday's plane crash along with his wife and 96 members of Poland's political elite represents a huge loss for the Polish-Jewish relationship, Poland's chief rabbi, New York native Michael Schudrich, told JTA. "A lot of those who are politically right of center are open to Jewish contributions to Polish culture, but if you had a dif- ferent person in power, they would have been quiet about it. Kaczynski empow- ered those people to also have a voice Schudrich said. Schudrich had been invited to accom- pany the presidential delegation to the April 10 event in Katyn commemorating the 1940 massacre there of 20,000 Poles by Soviet forces, but the rabbi could not attend the Saturday event. On Sunday, mourners packed Warsaw's Nozyk Synagogue, where Kaczynski once visited, for a memorial service for the vic- tims of the crash. Nearby, some 100,000 Poles filled the streets as the president's coffin passed by in a procession. Kaczynski's death, as tragic as it may be, is not likely to set back Polish-Jewish or Polish-Israeli relations, insiders say. The role of president is largely ceremonial in Poland; the government is run by the prime minister, currently Donald Tusk. Tusk and his Cabinet are considered allies of Israel and the United States, and are friendly to Jewish concerns. In 2008, as president, Kaczynski restored Polish citizenship to the 15,000 Jews exiled in 1968 by Poland's Communist government in the throes of an anti-Semitic frenzy. He was among Europe's top political supporters of Israel. AJC Ties Kari Alterman, Detroit director of the American Jewish Committee, said, "Since 1996, AJC has run a joint program with the Polish government to build strong relations between American Jewish and Polish leaders. Our leaders who have participated have gained an important perspective into the emerging Polish democracy and participated in high-level and unique dialogues with government officials, Jewish leaders and young profes- sionals. Additionally, a group of Polish leaders have traveled to the U.S. with AJC each of these years, gaining a greater understanding of our country and of the Jewish people:' Levi Smith, an AJC Detroit board mem- ber, said, "I was part of an AJC mission to Poland in July 2005 which was co-spon- sored by the Polish Foreign Ministry. We met with then mayor of Warsaw Lech Kaczynski for an hour. "He proudly, through an interpreter, pre- sented the plans for a Museum of History 'Poland's Tragedy Is Ours' David Harris Jewish Telegraphic Agency W hen the plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and dozens of other officials crashed in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk, Russia, on Saturday, this immense disaster was also a personal tragedy. I lost friends in the crash that killed key leaders from the Polish government, economy, and military. I first met Kaczynski when he was Warsaw's mayor. Kaczynski was eager for the renewal of Jewish life in Poland. He felt a kinship to Jews, whom he saw as an integral part of Poland's fabric. He said it was impossible to understand Poland without comprehending the Jewish role in its life. That's why he was supportive of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and why he was instru- mental in launching it. The president was a friend of Israel. He liked and understood it. He instinc- tively grasped its security predicaments because he could personally relate to a vulnerable country in a tough neigh- borhood. And he chastised those quick to judge Israel in order to curry favor with others, again seeing a parallel with Poland, whose own interests were sac- rificed more than once on the altar of global power politics. Rejecting Iran's nuclear ambitions was of Polish Jewry to be built with $33 million in city funds on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. I promised hhri that I would return with my family when it was completed. "Some people were cynical about his motiva- tion," Smith said. "Was it to increase Jewish tourism? I saw a sincere man who recognized our role and contributions Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, to Poland for 600 years. The museum is going up visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Sept. 12, 2006. today as a tribute to his efforts. report criticizing Israel for its actions in "We lost a friend this weekend." the 2009 Gaza war. He also upgraded mil- itary, economic and cultural cooperation Supporter Of Israel between Israel and Poland and opposed "The president and his wife were great anti-Semitism by emphasizing the shared friends to Israel," Israel's former ambas- history of Jews and Poles. sador to Poland, David Peleg, said. "And "In my first discussions with him as those who traveled with him on that mayor, he talked about the Jews at Katyn," plane were not only personal friends of mine, but also were dedicated to the pres- said Peleg, referring to the Russian site where Kaczynski was headed when his ervation of Jewish sites in Poland." plane crashed. "He made the point that Peleg singled out for praise Janusz more than 10 percent of those killed in Kurtyka, head of the National Katyn were Jewish officers." Remembrance Institute, Deputy Culture For now, the speaker of the Polish Minister Tomasz Merta and presidential Parliament, Bronislav Komorowski, adviser Mariusz Handzlik. Handzlik assumes the presidency until elections was so close with the Jewish commu- are held in two months. Komorowski nity that he attended the bat mitzvah of is one of several top candidates for Schudrich's daughter. the post. All are likely to continue Peleg, now head of the World Jewish Kacynsnki's path of Polish-Jewish Restitution Organization, noted that reconciliation, observers say. Kacynski lobbied against the Goldstone ❑ a no-brainer for Kaczynski. Like many Poles, he and his family had witnessed man's capacity for evil. In our meetings, he'd get right to the point: Isn't it obvious what Iran is doing? Iran's leaders can't be trusted with a bomb. The world needs to get tougher with Tehran. Mariusz Handzlik was another friend on the plane. A diplomat whom I first met in Washington years ago, he was serving as undersecretary of state in the office of Poland's president. When Mariusz was assigned to the Polish Mission to the United Nations, he proudly told me that now he would be in a position, together with his colleagues, to help Israel in the world body. He wanted the Israelis to know they had friends at the United Nations. Andrzej Przewoznik was secretary-gen- eral of the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites. I first met him when the Polish gov- ernment and the American Jewish Committee joined together to demarcate, protect, and memorialize the site of the Nazi death camp in Belzec, located in southeastern Poland, where In less than a year, more than 500,000 Jews were killed. That memorial could not have been built without Andrzej's pivotal role. May the memories of Lech Kaczynski, Mariusz Handzlik, Andrzej Przewoznik — and their fellow passengers — forever be for a blessing, as those of us privileged to have known them were ourselves blessed. ❑ David Harris is executive director of the American Jewish Committee. Obituaries on page 74 Obituaries 73