Warka, Poland – An Orthodox American Jew was attacked by a group of teenagers in Warka, a city located 60 kilometres from Warsaw.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The 19-year-old Asa Yitzhak Beich, from Anarbour, near Detroit, US, arrived in Poland two weeks ago and was visiting the “Ohel” of Rabbbi Yitzhak Kalish, a well-known Hassidic rabbi, located on the banks of the Pilica river.
Beich said, “I was by myself when I arrived at the cemetery. There, I met a group of twenty teenagers – aged between 11 and 16- to whom I asked the direction of the Ohel. When I arrived at the Ohel, located on the top of a hill, the teenagers started laughing at me, asking me for money and shouting “Jew” in Polish before they punched me in the face.”
The young man, who was lightly wounded, managed to escape and was later helped by Polish policemen who tried to identify the teenagers.
“Even though this is an unusal occurrence in Poland, it is unacceptable,” the country’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, said. He said he was hopeful that police will find the aggressors.
Some things never change…
WHY have American Jews made Poland rich on Jewish tourism?????
“Even though this is an unusal occurrence in Poland, it is unacceptable,”
Yeah right! “Unusual” in a country soaked with Jewish blood. Anti-Semitism is transmitted via breastmilk M’dor l’dor in that country.
My Father z”L refused to return or even step one foot in Poland. His comment was that it is acursed land and no place for a Yid. He refused to speak a word of Polish, his comment was that Yiddish was our language and English our new loshen. While Yidishkeit flourished in Poland and some of our greatest scholars came from Poland the streets run red with Jewish Blood. When I returned a number of years ago to the re-dedication of the Bais Olhem in our town of Kielce on our departure I witnessed the most blatant act of hatred, freshly writen on the wall of a building was the inscription in Polish “All Jews should die” with a Mogen Dovid and a swastika along side. For those of you who do not remember or know, when the remenants of Kielce community returned after the befreing, they were promptly murdered by the locals during the Kielce Pogrom who were afraid that they would have to return stolen Jewish property. What reason have we to re-establish a community in this geshultten land is beyond my comprehension. Let us please put our efforts to Eretz Hakodesh and work for Moshiach to come, lets channel our efforts to stop the defamation of Ir HaKodesh and leave Poland to the anti-semites. Let us remember the wonderful and vibrant history that was once, but more importantly let us remember all of our brothers & sisters & talmedi Chacomim who perished Al Kiddush Hashem. Let us not desicrate their memory by returning to this land of Jew Haters. And for all of you who employee a Polishia Goyta, don’t you ever wonder what she does in your house when you are not around or watching? Think about it, she does not have any respect or love for you!
And just what is not responsible about the posted comment? It is all fact not fiction
My father, who is also from Poland, says that no Jew should return to visit that pathetic excuse of a country.
If u have any doubt in the above comments about the polish besters, just try visiting the green point area in Brooklyn, see for your self how they treat you, [even those who are employed by yidden and smile to you in Jewish neighborhood].
u would think that the younger generation born n raised in the US are maybe better after all we live here in the most civilized country, not a chance, they would curse u for no reason just passing by the street, and ur lucky if its only cursing…
A recent article by a polish ambassador maybe questioned why we emphasize their past? THIS IS WHY!
I have been in poland many times and not only did I never have a problem, I found that the goyim went out of their way to be nice to me.
A Git Voch. Thank you for your concern. I am in Warsaw now, I am going to Lizhensk tomorrow.
My face is not so swollen anymore, the swelling was not much on the outside as on the inside, and I feel it when i eat or talk.
(Its Ann Arbor, not Anaurbor, and its Baitch, not Beich, Chassedei Aleksander.)
Kol Tuv.
this is normal for poland
Dear Asa Yitzchak-
First I am happy to read that you are feeling better and not seriously hurt.I am even more happy to read that instead of running away you are going to continue visiting kivrei tzaddikim in Poland.
I need to ask you for a favor.Please write down my hebrew name “Moshe Yitzchock ben Zelda Yehudis” and please daven for me at all the kivrei tzaddikim that you go to .Please daven that I should have parnassah and a shidduch.I really appreciate it, thankyou !
I dont know what other cities in Poland you plan to visit but please take photos and send them to the webmaster here so he can publish them.
If you are in Warsaw then you are not too far from Gora Kalwaria (GER) and you should try to go to the kever of the sfas emes.
Good luck on the rest of your trip.
Pincus Says:
WHY have American Jews made Poland rich on Jewish tourism?????
Why??? Why not? A certain ‘Rebbeh’ of the rich and richer has become even more popular with them by taking them on tours of ‘mekomos kedoshim’.
Not that anyone can find any mekomos kedoshim to visit in eretz yisrael.
You think the people who spend fortunes visiting Polish graveyards are stupid???
What about the tens of thousands of people who look normal but leave eretz yisroel to daven yomim noro’im an Uman instead of Yerusholayim?
As I am Polish I feel I have to say how all this is sad for me. I really admire Jewish people, your culture and way you live. It is really awful that some group of stupid village racists can influent or even create the image of Poles’ relation to Jews today. Please belive that there is a real majority of people in my country who is friendy to Jewish people. I feel really sad.
I agree with konradm- The many times I have been in Poland the polish people have gone out of their way to be nice to me.
Once I was accosted on a train by a drunken group of soccer hooligans and a group of Polish people who saw what was happening stood up against the hooligans and defended me.
Most of the Polish people I met were extremely nice, and it is unfortunate that the entire country gets a bad reputation because of a few drunken fools.
Of course I am referring to Poland in 2008. Obviously in 1945 things were different and the situation was alot worse.
If have heard stories (20 years ago?)from children of holocaust survivors that went on the march of the living. They understood Polish from their parents. In the hotel they stayed in they heard the Goyim saying in Polish, “They’re still here? I thought we got rid of them.”
Moshe, I missed my train to Lizhensk. i went to Pshischa instead. I have your kvittal.
I have many photos, I have a photo of the Ohel in Warka that I took after the police took me there.
And why should I let one incident ruin my trip? In the Gazeta, polish new paper, I was asked if this changes my vision of poland, i said no, I stay at Polish friends homes, and majority of poles are nice to me. On a bus to Aleksandrow Lodzki, to visit the Aleskander Rebbes keverim, my friend and I were yelled at by an antisemite, and told to goto the gas chambers. A polish man on the bus confronted him.
Hi Asa Yitzchak,
I heard your interview on Arutz Sheva with Tovia Singer and I felt compelled to learn more about this story on the web, especially to read the talkbacks on the various blogs. I want to add that I admire your courage by speaking out about this incident. And that these things should never go unpunished. I’m sure they’ll never catch those jerk-offs at the cemetary but know that those people will have to answer to their actions someday anyway.
I know some really decent Polish people and some horrible ones too. And I’m glad you’re not putting them all into the same boat.
You’ve probably asked yourself why this happened to you and your speaking out about this can wake other Jews up. I say to my Jewish friends; Israel is the best place for the Jewish people, it’s the only place that I’ve seen where Jews are totally free to live their Judaism to be exactly how they want to be. There is no future for the Jews in the galut!
Wishing you all the best, Asa Yitzchak.