Friday, October 09, 2009
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Leader: Anti-Semite?
Sorry I couldn't resist the easy sarcasm.
Many of you probably heard about the recent death, at 90, of the truly astonishing and heroic Marek Edelman, leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. (Which he refused to call an "uprising," since it was just a matter, to him, of choosing one way to die rather than another.) Anyway, the guy was incredible for many reasons, not least of which were his humility and his decision to live in Poland until his death, despite persistent anti-Semitic and communist persecution. He was a major figure in Solidarity and got himself arrested by Jaruzelski in the 1970's...
Anyway, the Times obituary gave you some vague sense of who this guy was. But it of course it did not tell you that he was a leader of the Marxist and anti-Zionist Bund, which was crucial in the anti-German resistance. The Times desecrators also left out this:
See here for an actual obituary that does not try to hide who the person was.
posted by speakingcorpse : 10/09/2009 12:42:00 PM
Many of you probably heard about the recent death, at 90, of the truly astonishing and heroic Marek Edelman, leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. (Which he refused to call an "uprising," since it was just a matter, to him, of choosing one way to die rather than another.) Anyway, the guy was incredible for many reasons, not least of which were his humility and his decision to live in Poland until his death, despite persistent anti-Semitic and communist persecution. He was a major figure in Solidarity and got himself arrested by Jaruzelski in the 1970's...
Anyway, the Times obituary gave you some vague sense of who this guy was. But it of course it did not tell you that he was a leader of the Marxist and anti-Zionist Bund, which was crucial in the anti-German resistance. The Times desecrators also left out this:
Warsaw Ghetto leader's letter to `Palestinian partisans' raises a storm
among uprising survivors and Zionists (Haaretz 8/9/2002):
Many internationally renowned figures have asked the Palestinians to end
violence and terrorism, but a letter from the deputy commander of the
Warsaw Ghetto uprising is causing a particular fuss. Dr. Marek Edelman, the last of the uprising leaders still living, wrote an "open letter" to Palestinians this week, asking them to stop the bloodshed and enter into peace negotiations. But the letter has prompted a dispute among the remaining survivors of the uprising and their families, since in his letter Edelman does not mention the word "terrorism."
Moreover, the letter is filled with hints of comparisons between the
Palestinians' fight and that of the ghetto residents. He addresses "the
commanders of the Palestinians armed organizations and the partisan
organizations, and the soldiers of the armed Palestinian organizations."
See here for an actual obituary that does not try to hide who the person was.
posted by speakingcorpse : 10/09/2009 12:42:00 PM
