Posted on 04/27/2006 11:21:15 AM PDT by lizol
Jewish group slams Polish religious rite as anti-Semitic
April 27, 2006
WARSAW -- A Jewish rights group on Wednesday protested to the Polish government over an Easter ritual held at a famous Roman Catholic sanctuary in southern Poland, claiming that the ceremony was tainted by anti-Semitism.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center urged Polish foreign minister Stefan Meller to discipline organizers of the Stations of the Cross ceremony at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a site to be visited by Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to Poland in May.
Shimon Samuels, director for International Relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which tracks down Nazi war criminals and fights anti-Semitism, urged Poland "to take measures to discipline the organizers in order to ensure that this anti-Semitic desecration is never repeated".
Samuels protested against costumes worn by people taking part in the ritual, which he said were "Jewish stereotypes in garb, beards and Stars of David".
The Kalwaria Zebrzydowska sanctuary hosted its annual Stations of the Cross ceremony on Good Friday, April 14, a ritual that involves scenes depicting the Passion of Christ.
The procession draws tens of thousands of the faithful. This year it was presided over by the Archbishop of Krakow, Stanislaw Dziwisz.
"This ceremony contravenes Polish responsibility to combat anti-Semitism under its obligation to the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe [OSCE]," Samuels said in a statement.
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska was a favorite site of Polish-born Pope John Paul II, where he came to pray as a child and that he visited during pilgrimages to his homeland.
John Paul's successor Pope Benedict XVI is to visit the sanctuary on May 27 during his four-day trip to Poland.
Here's one such Jew who immediately comes to mind.
I never seen headgear like that. Are those horns?
How dare you. Didn't you read the posts-- there are no anti-semites in Poland.
Who do they think was at the Crucifixion? Bulgarians?
I don't think Jews with stars and horns on their heads were there, if that's what you mean. And also I don't really want to get into a debate about the crucifixion because that is religious doctrine for Christians, not me.
The Sadducees and Pharisees were very deliberate about their ceremonial "costumes". We just don't have photos of them.
Which post does say, that there are no anti-Semites in Poland?
FLASHBACK - 2004
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center declared that The Passion had "already unleashed a wave of anti-Semitism in the United States." He told Reuters that his "Jewish human rights organization" had already received dozens of hate calls and letters prompted by the film.
Since they couldn't complain bout the film this year, they picked a Passion Play in Poland. Look for a repeat of this mantra in 2010 when the famous Oberammergau Passion Play is performed. According to their web site, February 2009: No more hair and beard-cut will be allowed ("Haar- und Barterlass") . They also subscribe to authenticity.
You are exactly right!
Why does anyone pay any attention at all to the hate-mongers at the Simon Wiesenthal Center?
There's a long European tradition of associating Jews with the devil and Judiasm with devil worship, frequently allied with various blood libels. Horns on Jews in Passion Plays are nothing new, I believe Oberammergau kept the tradition up until the 1980s. IMO to think this represents some insight into the dress of the time rather than the millenia long canard of Jews as devil worshippers is naive.
The depiction is in post 21 and 31. It was left out of the article.
Actually, my first thought was the wings of the cherubim over the Ark as the reached out to each other.
Not much if that's all.
That's hideous.
This is certainly not "history" - it IS anti-Semitic.
Its obviously anti-Semitic.
It seemed that something was missing. Portraying Jews as devils is certainly anti-Semitic and this a racist stereotype.
Who produced this, Herr Goebbles??
Just a move back to traditional values.
"I don't think Jews with stars and horns on their heads were there"
Roman legionists on these pictures look like a caricature of firemans, but this is not a problem for fire-fighters nor Italians (i hope). I think some peoples are too testy...
In the early middle ages, a distinctive feature of Jewish dress was the pointed or a funnel shaped hat worn by Jewish men throughout northern and western Europe. Its use was so widespread that by the twelfth century, the hat had become a Jewish symbol, proudly displayed on Hebrew manuscripts, medieval seals, and coats of arms.
(Image from A History of Jewish Costume)
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