Interesting development in Poland

I’m not going to write about Trump’s Gaza plan, other than Gaza now reminds me of Warsaw in 1945 – both in dramatically different political contexts, of course. Here’s just a tiny portion of Warsaw in 1945. Warsaw in 1945 was comparable in size with the Gaza Strip today (360 square kilometers). Today, Warsaw has 517 square kilometers. Not Tokyo or London, but not that small, either.

Back in 1945, there were doubts whether to rebuild Warsaw at all. Reminds me of the Gaza conundrum today. But Warsaw was finally rebuilt. Even old paintings were used to get an idea of the layout of the city. Warsaw’s population was scattered across Poland and the world. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a person living in Warsaw whose family history goes back generations. Warsaw dialect, including so many Jewish/Yiddish/Hebrew additions – all but wiped out by the tempest of history. You can still find it, but it’s rare. Polish is a phonetic language and pretty homogenous – not much variation. Hebrew, in spite of being phonetic, likely has much more variation and local quirks. I base it on linguistic intuition and the diversity of Jewish communities/sects/language history (diachronic) and so on.

A vibrant and huge Jewish population of Warsaw – mostly a remnant of the past. You can find a place or two, sure, but it’s just a simulacrum of the past. Still, it’s growing. Slowly, but surely.

Some seem to believe that Jews can’t go/don’t go to Catholic schools. Well, I went to high school (four years) with a Polish Jew (smart with a sardonic sense of humor I won’t quote here) so nope.

Recently, US President Donald Trump has named Thomas Rose, a conservative columnist and former publisher of The Jerusalem Post, as the new American ambassador to Poland, pending Senate confirmation. It’s my understanding he doesn’t mince words and is fervently anti-woke. Then he’s going to be loved by many here, including the stereotypical antisemites (who sometimes have Jewish-sounding last names, go figure). Just another giggle of history.