A Ray of Hope for Europe

I admit, I didn’t really want to go to Poland.

As a Jew, Poland always makes me kind of uncomfortable. But there was a conference, and I had committed to speaking there. And I knew a breath of air away from the war wouldn’t hurt. So off I went.

The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) hosted a three-day international conference on “Peace in the Holy Land” under the auspices of the Heschel Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations. It was a rather mixed bag of presenters: Israelis, non-Israeli Jews, non-Jewish long-term residents of Israel, and a solid batch of Catholics and Protestants.

My paper was very blunt about the war, my children’s military service, and our lives and priorities since October 7^th. Several papers spoke about Zionism and the Gaza war from different perspectives and communities.

But I was concerned – what were the security arrangements? After all, I was about to stand up as an Israeli in a university setting, with the sessions being broadcast to hundreds of viewers, and talk about my kids’ roles in the IDF. I was told there would be no security, and I waited to see how this would play out. What would happen when talk of Israel met the Polish university campus?

And the answer was…nothing. Or perhaps, one might say, everything.

No incidents, no protests, no disruptions.

Just a bunch of academics, speaking from diverse points of view, challenging each other and being challenged by student questions, building networks and new projects together. Or in short, the Catholic University at Lublin created a culture in which universities could do precisely what universities are supposed to do: foster a safe and free exchange of ideas and research-based opinions.

At a time when – for example – when universities in North America and Europe are boycotting Israeli academic institutions (with some cutting all ties), when Israeli researchers, scientific research publications are being rejected on political grounds, lecture invitations withdrawn, research collaborations cancelled, demonstrations against speakers, this simple example from Poland ought not be taken for granted.

I came home from Poland bubbling with new ideas and possibilities for collaboration and landed in Tel Aviv on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, to the horrifying news of the vicious attacks on Jewish soccer fans in Amsterdam. Many voices can be heard pronouncing Jewish life in Europe officially over, and perhaps indeed a threshold has been crossed.  But not all is lost: not for Europe and not for the academic world.

May we be able to point to many more safe and creative academic initiatives like this, for the future of Europe.