After losing government funding this year, Wrocław-based publication Chidusz looks to the wider Jewish community for survival

For any community undergoing a process of revival, it is important to have access to diverse forms of cultural and spiritual enrichment, including literature and the press. For the past nine years Chidusz, a small but excellent magazine, has been attempting to do just that for the Jews of Wrocław, Poland’s third largest city, and further afield.

The publication primarily focuses on Jewish culture and life, featuring articles, essays and interviews, as well as previously unpublished works by literary legends such as Chaim Grade, Etgar Keret and Amos Oz, and short stories by up-and-coming authors. Their mission statement? “Educating and strengthening the identity of Polish Jews.”

Unfortunately, Chidusz’s existence is now under threat. The Polish government’s Department of National Minorities, which awards publication grants, has gradually decreased its offering to Chidusz, until finally cutting all subsidies for 2023 – a move acknowledged by the magazine last December, when they published four blank pages in protest. "These pages symbolise all the interviews and articles we did not write because we either could not afford them or were too busy trying to make ends meet," wrote the editorial staff.

This decision to cut funding comes from the same government that funnels hundreds of thousands from public money into a ‘Patriotic Fund’, which goes towards groups such as the Independence March Association (IMA). Until February, its director had been Robert Bąkiewicz, former leader of the National Radical Camp (ONR), which openly identifies with the pre-war fascist organisation of the same name. He recently stepped down after clashing with other far-rightists regarding relations with the government. The IMA also presents the National Media channel, which was recently removed from YouTube for promoting antisemitic and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.

If Poland's right-wing government gets voted out this autumn, there is a chance that funding will be restored, but we cannot count on that. Given the final axing of subsidies and exorbitant printing costs caused by Covid and inflation, Chidusz has finally decided to switch from monthly to quarterly (plus an annual English-language edition), but that alone will not aid their survival. Therefore, they are calling for your support. It would be an incredible show of pride, strength and solidarity for the wider Jewish community to help keep Chidusz afloat, however modest or substantial your contribution. After all, a couple of quid goes a lot further in Wrocław than in London.

When the sad news broke last Hanukkah, staff of the magazine stated that they would require a miracle to survive. Hopefully Chidusz will soon be celebrating its tenth anniversary and we can toast them with the Hebrew saying that means a great miracle has happened. “Nes gadol haya sham!"

By Zach Smerin

Donate to Chidusz via their fundraising page on patronite.pl and visit chidusz.com to find out more.