Gora Kalwaria's Immaculate Conception Church stands in the center of the small town outside Warsaw As the bells of evening Mass begin to ring Kazimiera Sokolowska carefully makes her way up the steps to the Immaculate Conception Church in her hometown of Gora Kalwaria in the heart of a bucolic river valley an hour outside of the capital of Warsaw She attends Mass at least three times a week because children and family," she says with a warm smile The 80-year-old accountant has lived through war Soviet ruler Josef Stalin — "we praised him endlessly when we were young," she says — and the end of Communism Poland's Roman Catholic Church has stood by the people she says the nation's government is standing by the people and the church but I think it's good we have a government that represents our religious convictions and that's also concerned for the common man," she says Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party leads its opposition by almost 20 points in opinion polls ahead of the country's Oct At a time when neighboring economies are slowing Law and Justice has overseen one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe making Poland a role model of a successful conservative and nationalist state for other small Eastern European nations It's also one of the continent's most traditional political parties: in a country where 9 in 10 citizens are Catholic — one-third of them who regularly attend church — what the party calls its "pro-family" social agenda is popular Gora Kalwaria parish priest Andrzej Jerominek says Poland's Law and Justice Party is protecting Poles from what he calls "gender ideology" that is harmful to young people "Those are the values tested over many centuries and those are values that not only lead to God but also integrate families," says Gora Kalwaria parish priest Andrzej Jerominek The bespectacled cleric sits at a desk in a rectory office beside the Immaculate Conception Church Anti-abortion posters depicting the various stages of a human fetus adorn the walls To one side hangs a picture of Pope John Paul II Jerominek says the Catholic Church played a leading role in enabling Poland to regain independence a century ago fend off near-annihilation during World War II and withstand decades of Communist rule "For several decades that atrocious ideology was baneful to us all," he says of Communism "because it was an atheistic ideology that took people away from God we don't want new ideologies because we experienced in our own skin what they truly are: dressed in the feathers of humanistic values president of the Institute of Public Affairs says priests throughout rural Poland encourage parishioners to vote for the Law and Justice Party Jerominek says "novelties" like LGBT rights and what he calls "gender ideology" remind him of Communism "The ruling party is protecting us from all of that," he says The Law and Justice Party was founded in 2001 by former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his identical twin brother who died in a plane crash in 2010 while serving as Poland's president Both were pro-democracy leaders decades ago under Communist rule The party won Poland's last parliamentary elections in 2015 with an outright majority a feat no party has done since the fall of Communism in 1989 The party's message — that people haven't benefited enough from the country's post-Communist economic liberalization and integration into the European Union — has appealed to a working class that feels economically left behind from the rest of the EU and whose guidance typically comes from their local priest "Christianity is part of our national identity the [Catholic] Church was and is the preacher and holder of the only commonly held system of values in Poland," said Kaczynski But Poland is in the midst of a social change as educated urbanites break away from their Catholic upbringing. "The political impact of the church is rather limited in big cities. In small areas, they are all-powerful. They shape politics as they like," says Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs Kucharczyk says priests throughout Poland's countryside encourage parishioners to vote for the Law and Justice Party; in return you have nothing to be afraid of," he says of the nature of the relationship between the party and the church "There won't be investigations into pedophilia there won't be any change in your privileged position in public institutions such as public schools and so on and so forth." many people are frustrated with other aspects of the party's rule especially its move to grant lawmakers more power over appointing judges "I don't approve of what's been done to the judiciary," says retiree Blanka Radomska the European Commission referred Poland to the top European court over concerns that new laws strip judges of their independence Investigations and even sanctions are expected to follow Adding to international concern, in a 232-page party manifesto published in preparation for this month's election the Law and Justice Party outlined new rules for Polish journalists that would create a "self-government" body to ensure "ethical and professional standards among journalists." Human rights advocates have called the new rules "an assault on democracy." The Institute of Public Affairs' Kucharczyk says a strong economy has helped Law and Justice stay in power for four years populist message has appealed to other Eastern European countries where a resurgence of nationalism has catapulted other nationalist parties into power the upcoming election poses an existential threat "These people have done so many things in the four years in power that they will likely face legal actions if they lose power Law and Justice politicians have been caught in corruption scandals in the past year Poland's Parliament speaker resigned for using government aircraft for private trips But these scandals haven't dented party popularity and losing seems unlikely as long as the economy steadily grows under its rule many of the country's voters will likely continue to throw their support behind Law and Justice Grzegorz Sokol contributed to this story in Gora Kalwaria and Warsaw Become an NPR sponsor Sign up for our weekly email newsletter to never miss a story Israeli women protest violence against women in the eighth annual “Slutwalk” in Jerusalem May 25 JERUSALEM — Last March, an article by this writer appeared in the Vancouver Canada bi-weekly The Jewish Independent concerning the efforts of Toronto businessman and philanthropist Daniel Goldberg to restore the historic beit midrash (study hall) of the Gerrer hassidim in Góra Kalwaria Poland — a small town on the Vistula River some 12 miles southeast of Warsaw was also called Nowa Jerozolima (New Jerusalem) in Polish reflecting its holiness for both Jews and Christians Goldberg is seeking to conserve the physical remains of Góra Kalwaria’s extinct Jewish community Most important is the former synagogue built in 1903 at ul Across the street is a metal gate at the yard that marks the home and house of prayer of Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Alter (1798-1866) known as the Chiddushei HaRim in keeping with the custom among Orthodox Jews that a religious literary figure is known by the title of his primary rabbinic tome was part of an undercover international effort to lure an Israeli pedophile to Poland where he would be arrested Involved were former Ministry of Defense field agents now working as spooks for hire Because, I learned, fellow Gerrer hassid Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman allegedly is protecting pedophiles in his 100,000-member hassidic sect in Israel and the broader community of the ultra-Orthodox who constitute more than 1,000,000 of Israel’s 9 million people Litzman has helped at least 10 serious sex offenders obtain improved conditions by pressuring state psychiatrists and prisons service officials Some of the cases are reportedly being examined by police Most notorious of those whom the Gerrer sage-turned politician and head of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party has been accused of using his influence to protect is Malka Leifer who for more than a decade has been fighting extradition to Australia for allegedly abusing students at the Gerrer-affiliated school Downunder who is expected to remain in his post in the next government if Benjamin Netanyahu remains Israel’s prime minister following the September 17 general election has been under police investigation since February on suspicions he sought to obtain a falsified psychiatric report that would have prevented Leifer from being extradited back to Australia The former principal at the Adass Israel school in Melbourne has been charged in absentia with 74 counts of sexually abusing her students But judges here have repeatedly delayed her extradition due to her claims she is mentally unfit to stand trial in 2008 Leifer slipped out of Australia and fled to Israel days before allegations of sexual abuse against her surfaced Her escape plan was allegedly abetted by Gerrer officials at the school where she taught Leifer was arrested here but soon released to house arrest Judges deemed her mentally unfit to stand trial and eventually removed all restrictions against her concluding that she was too ill to even leave her bed she was rearrested last February following a police undercover operation that cast doubts on her claims regarding her mental state The operation was launched after the Jewish Community Watch NGO hired private investigators who placed hidden cameras in the haredi town of Emmanuel in the West Bank where Leifer was living The footage showed the alleged child molester shopping without any apparent difficulty Litzman is suspected of a pattern of pressuring corrections officials to be lenient with other haredi offenders the TV station reported on a second police probe in which Litzman and his chief of staff are suspected of pressuring a psychiatrist to ensure that another imprisoned sex offender close to Litzman’s Gur sect was placed in a rehabilitation program Participation in the program can lead to home-visit rights and early release from prison The police are also probing accusations against Litzman’s former aide and now freshman UTJ Member of Knesset Yaakov Tesler who allegedly pressured the Prisons Service to allow home visits for convicted murderer-rapist Tal Tzarfati while he served a 14.5-year sentence for murdering a young woman in Tel Aviv Litzman and Tesler are only two of the names in the sex scandals rocking Israel Jewish leaders accused of sexual misconduct 2019) that blew the lid off of a hushed misconduct accusation involving a prominent spiritual leader in the national religious camp Safed chief rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu called on the public to stay away from a respected counterpart accusing him of carrying out several inappropriate relationships with female followers among them an adherent whom he convinced to divorce her husband the national religious Srugim news site broke a story about Eliyahu demanding that an unnamed yeshiva director step down due to “personal entanglements.” Eliyahu outed the individual as Rabbi Shmuel Tal the head of the Torat HaChaim yeshiva as well as several other religious institutions in the central town of Yad Binyamin Eliyahu wrote: “I do not recommend that anyone learn any halacha (Jewish law) from him I do not recommend studying at his yeshiva or at his seminary for women or at his counseling academy.”  Eliyahu opened the letter saying that roughly four years ago he learned about an improper relationship that Tal who had approached the Torat HaChaim leader seeking marriage counseling.  Safed’s chief rabbi said that Tal refused to comply with his request and continued his affair with the woman even successfully convincing her to divorce her husband Tal told the woman that the “holy spirit” had informed him that his own wife after which he would marry her in Yifat’s stead the still-alive Yifat rejected the subsequent proposal that Tal wed the female follower while remaining married to his first wife.  The woman and her husband chose to sue Tal for damages and the rabbi agreed to pay $138,287 as reparations though it was later discovered that Tal did not pay the amount in full.  “I looked into the matter of the ‘holy spirit’ and found that he had for years been giving many people advice based on his belief he was in contact with the ‘holy spirit,’ causing great harm,” Eliyahu wrote adding that the misguided advice was endangering the hundreds of people in Yad Binyamin and around the country who are followers of Tal’s This is the third allegation of misconduct against a prominent rabbi in the national religious community that Eliyahu has been tasked with resolving a young student approached him to accuse Rabbi Mordechai “Moti” Elon of sexually inappropriate behavior in a new claim that came five years after Jerusalem’s Yeshivat HaKotel head was convicted on two counts of sexual assault Confronted by Eliyahu and other senior national religious camp rabbis agreed to cease all public activity and seek treatment Eliyahu also led a team of rabbis that investigated sex crime accusations made by a dozen women against Safed’s Orot Ha’ari yeshiva chairman Ezra Sheinberg The team opened its probe in 2015 and reported the rabbi to the police several months later which nabbed Sheinberg as he was attempting to flee the country he was convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison Eliyahu's bombshell followed the controversial honoring at the state-sponsored Lag b’Omer celebrations in Meron in the Upper Galilee on May 2 of convicted pedophile Rabbi Eliezer Berland who served five months of an 18-month prison sentence after eluding arrest for three years Berland was among the 20 rabbis who lit a ceremonial bonfire at the tomb of famed 2nd Century CE sage and mystic Shimon Bar Yochai The festivities were attended by some 250,000 ultra-Orthodox men Berland became a fugitive from justice after being charged with sexually assaulting women in his flock of followers he was ultimately arrested in South Africa and repatriated to stand trial on reduced charges as part of a plea agreement Berland's followers claimed he was suffering from ill health enabling him to serve some of his sentence on house arrest he returned to lead his followers who remained loyal to him throughout Annual SlutWalk protests violence against women Putting all this in a cultural context where women and children are sexualized and preyed upon with impunity some 600 people in various stages of undress marched down Jaffa Road here on Friday (May 25 2019) in the eighth annual SlutWalk protesting violence against women and the country's culture of sexual harassment and rape the word is borrowed from the Arabic for a prostitute but has an even more derogatory and misogynist connotation in Hebrew A woman attending the Slutwalk march in May Some women removed their shirts in protest of religious leaders and victim-blaming women who come forward with sexual abuse and rape allegations “The word ‘sharmutah’ is not just a word used to humiliate women," said Bracha Barad one of the march organizers and head of the Kulan feminist association "It is used by society and the establishment to justify rape.” Barad said many demonstrators wore little clothing to convey that women should be able to wear what they chose without being subject to sexual harassment “There is no connection between gender and sexual violence and there is no connection between the victim’s appearance and the attack she has been through,” she added “We demand justice and a radical change in the establishment.” several male counter-protesters tried to interrupt the activists by throwing eggs and other objects at them while calling them “prostitutes,” according to the Ynet news site SlutWalk is an organization that fights against those who justify rape based on a woman’s attire or appearance in response to an official’s statement that “women should avoid dressing like whores” in order not to be raped marches have been held in cities around the world and have gained a massive following the culture of sex crimes seems particularly entrenched among the country’s movers and shakers.  Efi Naveh resigned as Israel Bar Association president in the wake of the “sex for judgeship” affair for which he is under criminal investigation Lahav 433 (the National Crime Unit) questioned him and two other suspects one of whom was Netanya Magistrate’s Court Judge Eti Karif for involvement in a scheme of promoting judicial candidates in exchange for sexual favors Naveh is suspected of having sexual relationships with Karif and with a female lawyer whose husband is a magistrate’s court judge and was seeking promotion to become a district judge Even more notorious was the sordid case of Moshe Katsav a disgraced former politician who was the eighth President of Israel from 2000 to 2007 allegations of rape arose from a female subordinate They were followed by a litany of sexual harassment claims from other former employees In a landmark and unprecedented 2010 trial Katsav was convicted of two counts of rape and obstruction of justice he was released from prison having served five years of his sentence How will the electorate respond to the growing litany of allegations of sexual transgressions against rabbis and politicians Stay tuned for the results of the September 17 vote Religion Unplugged is part of The Media Project and a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News.EIN: 83-0461425Site design by Peter Freeby Privacy Policy The Gerrer Rebbe’s son Harav Dovid Alter paid a visit to 770 on Sunday where he was shown the Rebbe’s room and the library He was gifted a Tanya printed in the original courtyard of the Gerrer Rebbes in Góra Kalwaria paid a visit to Chabad World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway on Sunday accompanied by a group of gabboyim and chassidim The visit, arranged by activist Shmuly Butler, came following a earlier visit of Chabad rabbonim and mashpi’im to the Gerrer Rebbe in his Monsey residence where he was staying ahead of the wedding of his granddaughter which took place nearby Harav Alter was greeted by Rabbi Chaim Boruch Halberstam of Vaad Bedek Habayis and Rabbi Mendel Eisebach Rabbi Halberstam opened the Rebbe‘s room specially for the visitors and showed them some of the unique items in the room including the table hand crafted by the Rebbe Maharash Harav Alter then spent a few short moments davening in the sacred spot They then headed to the Central Chabad Library where Chief Librarian Rabbi Berel Levine gave them an extensive tour of the exhibitions Harav Alter expressed great interest in the items from the Chabad Rebbeim and showed special interest in the seforim of the Rebbe’s father and the glosses that fill each page written with ink prepared by the Rebbetzin Chana with great self sacrifice while they were in exile Rabbi Levine also told Harav Alter about historic items from the Gerrer Rebbes which the library owns The group then went back to 770, where they were given a tour of the WLCC welcome center. Rabbi Halberstam showed Harav Alter a video he had personally filmed of a yechidus that his father, the current Gerrer Rebbe Shmuly Butler gifted Harav Alter with a pocket sized Tanya that had been printed in the original courtyard of the Gerrer Rebbes in Góra Kalwaria was engraved with a dedication to Harav Dovid Alter Harav Dovid Alter expressed his admiration of Chabad and of the operations in 770 Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" was 15 when he witnessed the flight of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans from the Red Army as they advanced into the eastern territories; his father who was conscripted as a Wehrmacht officer and killed in the last days of the war owned one of the ships used to shuttle refugees from East Prussia to Rostock froze to death or were killed by the allies as they fled The young Kempowski became a Luftwaffe courier, only to be found guilty in 1948 of collaboration with the US and sentenced to 25 years in prison by the occupying Soviets as well as writing his German Chronicle series of novels he amassed a vast collection of wartime letters using it to create the monumental Echolot (Depth-Sounder) a 10-volume “collective diary” and unique contribution to the collective act of Vergangenheitsbewältigung His final novel was the bestselling All for Nothing and the same anguished phrase resounds at the heart of Homeland published in Germany in 1991 as Mark Und Bein (Marrow and Bone) a 43-year-old jobbing writer living in Hamburg and getting by on a stipend from his uncle is offered a trip to East Prussia – now part of Poland – to write a travel piece for a Japanese car manufacturer planning a motor rally (“state-of-the-art V8 engines against a backdrop of dilapidated towns”) on the migrant caravan: his mother bled to death shortly after giving birth and her body was left in a church porch while his father (like the author’s) was killed on the Vistula Spit this guaranteed him an unparalleled advantage over his friends,” Kempowski dryly observes is everywhere: “Hamburg was teeming with East Prussians every one of whom must have a story to tell and it seemed to Jonathan very strange that nobody asked them about it.” When he pesters a newspaper vendor for his story he immediately regrets it: “He had forfeited his advantage on the suffering front He stood at the kiosk in his baggy Danish cardigan … wondering how to get away.” Walter Kempowski: a tightrope between black humour and genuine horror Photograph: FrickeHe shares a flat with his younger girlfriend a part-time museum curator working on an exhibition of depictions of cruelty; they have separate rooms their relationship having fizzled into mutually dishonest deadlock As much for the generous fee as for the chance to see where he was born Jonathan travels to Poland with famous racing driver Hansi Strohtmeyer and Frau Winkelvoss of the Santubara Corporation As they drive the rally route they are dogged by a coachload of German “Homeland Association” members who pop up like a Greek chorus full of a complex attachment to the land where they were born a sentiment unexpressed and avoided by Jonathan When history does catch up with him it’s briefly devastating It can be hard, when reading books in translation, to disentangle the intentions of the author from the later decisions of the translator. Charlotte Collins also worked on Robert Seethaler’s A Whole Life; her award-winning translation is supple and pellucid there is an instability around free indirect speech and there are some unattributed lines of spoken dialogue The result is a slightly distancing sense of uncertainty about who is telling the story and how we should relate to it – which may have been deliberate on Kempowski’s part But that uncertainty makes it difficult to judge something else about the novel: its disdainful rendering of women from the faithless Ulla with her rotten incisor to the “stupid” housewife who collects flowery china and the risible Frau Winkelvoss in harem pants and unsuitable shoes One hopes this perspective belongs to the characters but it’s sometimes hard to be sure whose voice we’re hearing “They were curious to discover what there was to see there,” Kempowski writes as Jonathan and his companions set off for Danzig “Polish women were said to be stunningly attractive but after three years they started losing their figure.” And then one of those floating lines of unattributed speech: “They have no idea Germans used to live there.” Homeland walks a tightrope between black humour and horror: the Santubara crew in their supercars are “like members of a master race”; an antiques dealer might well have “drawers full of cut-off hair” neither German suffering nor German guilt can be suppressed Melissa Harrison’s All Among the Barley is published by Bloomsbury. Homeland by Walter Kempowski, translated by Charlotte Collins, is published by Granta. To order a copy for £13.19 (RRP £14.99) go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £15, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99. Share to WhatsApp Copy Link Print Send by e-mail Share to Classroom Add to Favorites var tag = document.createElement('script'); tag.src = "https://www.youtube.com/iframe_api"; var firstScriptTag = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; firstScriptTag.parentNode.insertBefore(tag slider=jQuery(".royalSlider").royalSlider({ // autoplay options go gere enabled: false,//true adina imageScaleMode: 'fit-if-smaller' slider = jQuery(".royalSlider").data('royalSlider'); const fullscreenButton = jQuery(".rsFullscreenBtn"); // ???? const fullscreenIcon = fullscreenButton.find(".rsFullscreenIcn"); // ???? customNavWrapper.append(prevArrow).append(customCounter).append(nextArrow); // jQuery(".royalSlider").append($customNavWrapper); jQuery(".rsGCaption").before(customNavWrapper); const currentSlide = slider.currSlideId + 1; // ???? const totalSlides = slider.numSlides; // ??? customCounter.text(`${currentSlide}/${totalSlides}`); slider.ev.trigger('rsAfterSlideChange'); slider.ev.on('rsOnCreateVideoElement' //alert("rsOnCreateVideoElement " + url); var player = new YT.Player('player' playerVars: { 'autoplay': 1 'onReady': onPlayerReady 'onStateChange': onPlayerStateChange function onPlayerReady(event) { event.target.playVideo(); function onPlayerStateChange(event) { if (event.data === 0) { slider.stopVideo(); jQuery(".royalSlider").height("auto"); // ����� ���� ����� ����� ���� ��� ��� slider.st.arrowsNav = true; // ����� ����� �� ����� ������ // ����� ���� ����� ����� ������ ���� ��� slider.st.arrowsNav = false; // ����� ������ jQuery('.popup-gallery').magnificPopup({ tLoading: 'Loading image #%curr%...' //temp += 'Discovering Lost Family via the Yad Vashem Database'; Poland (aslo known as Ger) Avner Yonai (38) a native Israeli businessman living in California recently connected with a lost relative after discovering Pages of Testimony submitted by his grandfather in memory of family members who were murdered in the Shoah Since 2008, Avner has served as a volunteer through the JFSF of San Francisco for the Shoah Victims' Names Recovery Project where he meets with Holocaust survivors to assist them in filling out Pages of Testimony in memory of their loved ones. As part of his volunteer work Avner also learned to conduct searches on the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names database which ultimately led him to discover a living connection with a descendant of his great aunt Bluma was born in Poland in the town of Gora Kalwaria (aslo known as Ger) Yonai recently unearthed his grandfather’s travel and aliyah documents which show that David Rybak emigrated from Poland to Mandatory Palestine in 1935 Beryl Rybak remained in Poland and was murdered with his wife Bluma (née Goldhecht) in Treblinka in 1942 Yaacov Goldhecht survived and filled out a Page of Testimony in her memory in Israel in the 1950's Avner then discovered that his grandfather had also filled out Page of Testimony commemorating his sister-in-law Avner’s research also revealed that Yaacov Goldhecht was from the same town as his grandfather and played together as members of The Mandolin Orchestra of Ger Beryl Rybak served as the conductor of the orchestra which was active during the 1920’s and 1930’s; most of its members were killed in the Shoah Goldhecht explained in an excerpt from the Gora Kalwaria Yizkor book that it was: “A unique orchestra directed by Beryl Ryback …who knows Under different circumstances Beryl could well have gone on to become a world-renowned conductor This all exists only in the memories of the survivors of Ger in all the countries of the world where they have been scattered…from time to time they feel a longing for this beautiful romantic past that belongs to a past that is dead and buried… The Jews of Ger died the deaths of martyrs by the hands of the vile Nazi murders!” Using the contact information on the Page of Testimony submitted by Yaacov Goldhecht Avner succeeded in tracing the Goldhecht family He immediately contacted his newly found cousin Giora Goldhecht (Yaacov’s grandson) and members of the two branches of the family came together for an emotional reunion in the Goldhecht family home in Israel Avner’s mother Lea and his uncle Yitzhak were both named after members of the family that perished in the Shoah neither of them was aware of the fact that their father had submitted Pages of Testimony to Yad Vashem Avner says he used the Internet to plan his travels to Poland and Belarus where he painstakingly traced his family roots in a journey that has knit together the past and present in a way that sheds light on his Israeli American family and the intertwined drama of Jews and non-Jews in four countries In addition to launching a Facebook page dedicated to the orchestra that was once so pivotal to his family Yonai is also spearheading an effort to stage a revival concert of the mandolin orchestra of Ger The Yad Vashem website had recently undergone a major upgrade The page you are looking for has apparently been moved We are therefore redirecting you to what we hope will be a useful landing page For any questions/clarifications/problems, please contact: webmaster@yadvashem.org.il at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts an international celebration of Jewish arts and culture The Ger Mandolin Orchestra is the brainchild of Israeli-American Avner Yonai Avner's search for his family roots in Poland led him to a tattered photograph of his grandfather and two other relatives playing in a pre-WWII Jewish mandolin orchestra in the Polish town of Gora Kalwaria (Ger in Yiddish) The photograph inspired Yonai to create a contemporary version of this musical group as a memorial project for his own family and the orchestra members it brings something to life rather than honouring something that's dead.  — Prof Under the direction of Grammy winner Mike Marshall the new Ger Mandolin Orchestra resurrects a quintessential Jewish musical form Mandolin clubs and orchestras were at one time ubiquitous in the shtetlakh (villages) of Jewish Eastern Europe and in North American immigrant communities With authentic instrumentation and repertoire that includes Klezmer the Ger Mandolin Orchestra's all-star lineup of international musicians achieves a rare synergy between history and virtuosic musical performance The GMO's NY premiere is presented as part of KulturfestNYC produced by the National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene America's longest-running Yiddish theatre company "I could not imagine a better context than KulturfestNYC for the Ger Mandolin Orchestra to make its NY debut soul and authenticity makes them entirely unique and the story behind their creation is compelling and inspiring New Ger Mandolin Orchestra led by Mike Marshall in front of the Ger Synagogue in Poland The 11-member Ger Mandolin Orchestra (GMO) made its debut in March 2011 at the Jewish Music Festival in Berkeley the group was invited to Poland to perform in the town of Gora Kalwaria to a packed room of over 500 residents including the only two remaining Jewish community members the town of Gora Kalwaria subsequently created its first ever (now-annual) Holocaust memorial event as a result of music workshops conducted by the GMO on that trip a number of Polish youth mandolin orchestras now perform arrangements of Jewish music from the GMO's repertoire the Ger Mandolin Orchestra performed sell-out concerts in Claremont The group is on permanent display at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix Arizona as representatives of Polish musical culture and plucked string orchestras The Ger Mandolin Orchestra is led by renowned multi-instrumentalist Mike Marshall a multiple Grammy nominee and winner known for his work over the last 35 years with such luminaries as Bela Fleck Marshall is joined in the GMO by an all-star cast of mandolinists From the classical mandolin world comes San Diego's Chris Acquavella and San Francisco's Dana Rath and Adam Roskiewicz whose most recent album Americana received three Grammy nominations in 2012 The group's resident experts in Jewish and Klezmer music are New York City's Jeff Warschauer and Toronto's Eric Stein leader of the award-winning group Beyond the Pale and Artistic Director of Toronto's renowned Ashkenaz Festival mandolinists esteemed for their expertise in bluegrass Adding to the international flavour of the group is Prague's Radim Zenkl an astounding virtuoso whose music bridges the worlds of bluegrass The orchestra is completed by two new additions German Classical mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg who holds the only professorship of mandolin in all of Europe (Cologne University of Music and New England-based bluegrass/roots innovator Joe Walsh who teaches on the faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston You may leave a comment if you have a Mandolin Cafe Forum account Clicking "Post a Comment" below will take you to the forum where you can complete this action your comment will appear both on this page and on our forum YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN to your Mandolin Cafe forum account to comment » View Full Version of These Comments Special thanks to the Mandolin Cafe's primary business partners CA Immo exits non-core market Serbia with the sale of the 19,600 sqm office building Sava Business Center in Belgrade Both the sales price and the buyer are subject to confidentiality As the PBSA sector finally takes off in Poland it is now increasingly attracting international operators and investors Eurobuild CEE spoke to Xior's investment manager about why it has such confidence in the Polish market Residential developer Develia has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire all the shares in Bouygues Immobilier Polska the Polish subsidiary of Bouygues Immobilier ESA logistika has leased 15,000 sqm in Prologis Park Piotrków GLP has completed the development of its Wrocław V Logistics Centre and has received a BREEAM rating of Outstanding Panattoni has secured EUR 40 mln in financing from BNP Paribas for the development of Panattoni Park Sosnowiec IV Newgate Investment (NGI) and Redkom Development are developing a large retail park in Bydgoszcz Deutsche Hypo – NORD/LB Real Estate Finance has provided a five-year green loan to Olivia Seven for the refinancing of the Olivia Prime A office building in Gdańsk-Oliwa communications and security company Motorola Solutions has signed a five-year lease renewal 18,000 sqm at the Green Office complex in Kraków’s Podgórze district Falling interest rates and easing monetary policy across the eurozone and CEEi are boosting investor confidence in the region’s commercial real estate market reveals Colliers in its ‘Beyond Real Estate | Economy’ report Panattoni is to build the Panattoni Park Mainz Süd in Erbes-Büdesheim bei Alzey Axi Immo has presented its latest report “Warsaw Office Market – Q1 2025 The market opened in 2025 on a steady footing with a notable increase in leasing activity and a modest decline in vacancy landlords continue to focus on upgrading existing assets and prioritizing quality over quantity Convenience store chain Żabka has officially opened a new logistics centre in Kąty Wrocławskie The first stage of the development will serve 1,500 stores in the Wrocław area Romanian Post has leased over 5,000 sqm of logistics space in CTPark Bucharest to serve as its temporary regional courier and logistics hub for Bucharest JLL has announced the sale and leaseback of two properties by a manufacturing company in a deal worth over PLN 1 bln Warehouse developer CTP is adding 2,000 sqm to its Clubco coworking development in Brno pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has extended an investment facility to PineBridge Benson Elliot for the Diuna Office Park in Warsaw The hotel market in Bucharest continued its recovery in 2024 while the ADR has finally surpassed the milestone of EUR 100 Torus has announced its All.inn students’ residence concept that is soon to appear on ul BIG Poland has acquired the Multishop Suwałki retail park comprising 13,000 sqm of retail space The company now owns nine fully commercialized retail parks in Poland Slate Asset Management has sold three OBI retail stores to the Lindner Group from Germany Cushman & Wakefield has conducted a survey the findings of which are presented in the report From Shopping to Experiences: A Customer’s View on Shopping Centres and Retail Parks Cushman & Wakefield notes that despite evolving shopping trends both retail formats continue to hold strong appeal Multi Poland has taken on the management of the Galeria Przymorze shopping centre in Gdańsk The store offers lifestyle and sporting clothing and is to open this spring According to the "Quo Vadis E-commerce" report released by Cushman & Wakefield the online commerce continues to be a growth driver for the industrial & logistics real estate sector generating significant opportunities for developers and investors the investor behind the Projekt Góraszka shopping and entertainment complex in Wiązowna on Warsaw’s eastern outskirts has obtained a building permit for a mixed-use development Poznan-based company Scallier is opening another facility under the Funshop Park brand in Romania According to the latest report “At a Glance: Modern Retail Market in Poland Q4 2024” from BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland Poland’s retail market experienced record growth in 2024 Cushman &Wakefield has summarised the situation on the Polish retail market Over half a mln sqm of new retail space came on stream last year marking the highest new supply level in Poland since 2015 This robust development activity occurred amid rising demand from new retailers and improving consumer sentiment which boosted retail sales A new retail park with a total area of 24,000 sqm is set to be developed in Otwock under the name Świderek The investment will be led by Redkom Development Empik has opened a flagship store in the revitalised former Cepelia pavilion in the centre of Warsaw the modernist building has regained its former glory and once again impresses with its original appearance and modern interior Trei Real Estate Poland has opened its 40th Vendo Park The investment was created in Wrocław and has 5,000 sqm Vendo Park Wrocław is the first facility under this banner in the capital of Lower Silesia The retail park was built on a plot of approx An 800 sqm Biedronka grocery store is to open on the ground floor of the Moje Bielany residential complex which is being developed by CeMat A/S at ul Wólczyńska 121 in Warsaw’s Bielany district Spring has very much sprung and everywhere is bathed in the first warm sunshine of the year I have in the back of my mind the terrifying fo .. The Polish warehouse market has finally stabilised after the post-pandemic boom but new challenges and opportunities are on the horizon for the sector UBM Development has been given the go-ahead for the first wooden office building in Poland: Timber Park in Poleczki Business Park in Warsaw The office market in Warsaw is currently experiencing a period of stability in terms of supply and take-up Recent data on overall tenant activity indicates that clients in the cap .. Receive all the latest information from the world of real estate by e-mail the construction of the Aura residential building designed by Robert Konieczny's office KWK Promes According to a report by research company Spectis “Construction companies in Poland 2025-2030” the total revenues of the 300 leading construction gro .. The Globalworth Foundation has provided the authorities in Bucharest with office space for a Covid vaccination centre Panattoni BTS and Commercecon together support the establishment of the second Centaurus Foundation centre in Poland to help horses and other animals intends to focus on operations in other reg .. Six class A office buildings in the PRO Portfolio which is jointly owned by PineBridge Benson Elliot and Sharow Capital have been granted BREEAM In-U .. Who won this year's 14th edition of the Eurobuild Awards The jury and guests gathered at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel in Warsaw chose this year's .. Enjoy the last set of recordings with comments straight from this year's MIPIM we asked experts from our home country for their input will take place on 9-10 April 2025 at the Norblin Factory Event Hall in W .. we invite you to hot episode of the "Eye to eye" podcast The UN Nansen Refugee Award award will go to Poland for the first time According to the office of the UNHCR High Commissioner this year's regional wi .. Czech developer CTP has been granted a EUR 200 mln loan from the European Investment Bank for the roll-out of its large-scale solar panel installation .. while the ADR has finally surpassed the milestone .. Jarosław Szanajca plans to resign from the position of president of the management board of Dom Development at the end of the year and join the superv .. The Polish and Danish governments have entered preliminary discussions for the construction of a tunnel between Szczecin and Copenhagen underneath the .. Viterra has moved into its ​​new 1,500 sqm offices in Olivia Prime part of the Olivia Centre business complex in Gdańsk Panattoni has acquired two properties near Gothenburg The brownfield sites will be replaced by a modern 43,000 sqm facility Contemporary cities are grappling with the challenge of fostering dynamic growth while alleviating environmental pressures Colliers has taken over the management of the Studio B office building located in the Warsaw Wola district The property is owned by Stena Real Estate .. The University of Warsaw has signed a contract with the general contractor for a project at ul The new building will house the faculti .. Velis Real Estate Tech is officially changing its name to Singu adopting the title of its property management product the construction of the Panattoni Park Unterfranken has officially started