This place (the Jewish Culture Festival – ed.) is very much needed. It is filled with positive energy, meaningful and substantive meetings, and provides a space where one can feel safe. I am grateful to the Organisers and the Machers for creating a family-like atmosphere while, at the same time, celebrating and embracing multiculturalism. Thank you very much for all the work you put into making this possible.

At times, I wished that so many things were not happening at once, as I simply could not be everywhere. I am already looking forward to next year.

Long ago, at the border between two worlds, we laid a stone. Today, the Jewish Culture Festival Gate stands in its place. For thirty-eight years, it has been built by three generations of Poles, Jews, and people of goodwill. Nothing can destroy it—not the elements, nor any human being. You will not find it in the material world. For this gate exists within each of us. It is שער החיים — Sha’ar HaChaim, the Gate of Life – This is how Janusz Makuch, founder of the Jewish Culture Festival, described the idea behind this year’s edition.

On our website, you can read the full text explaining how we understand the theme of the 35th edition of the Festival, as well as Janusz Makuch’s personal stories about the gates of Yerushalayim.

Tadeusz “Tad” Taube, a longtime friend and donor of the Festival, passed away in September 2025. We received the news of his death with profound pain and sadness. Born in Kraków, he will remain in Kraków—in our grateful memory and in our hearts. It is often said that “a person does not die completely.” Indeed, Tad Taube lives on, because his spiritual, intellectual, and Jewish legacy lives on in everything we do—those of us whom he blessed with his love and trust. We continue his work of renewing Jewish life in Poland.

A letter to the organisers and participants of the 35th Jewish Culture Festival was sent by Dianne Taube, Tad’s widow and Chair of Taube Philanthropies. We, his friends at the Jewish Culture Festival, said our own farewell to Tad

Janusz Makuch, founder and longtime director of the Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków, was honoured with the “Memory of Encounter” Award, presented by the Club of Christians and Jews “Przymierze” and the Chapter of the Rev. Stanisław Musiał SJ Award. The award is unique in character: it is a one-time distinction created specifically to honour Janusz Makuch. In this way, the Club of Christians and Jews “Przymierze” and the Chapter of the Rev. Stanisław Musiał SJ Award recognised his many years of work dedicated to fostering dialogue, bringing Jewish culture closer to wider audiences, and creating spaces conducive to conversation and mutual understanding.

In November 2025, Janusz Makuch stepped down as Chair of the Board of the Jewish Culture Festival Association, and on 1 January 2026, he also stepped down as Director of the Festival. Both positions are now held by Robert Gądek, who has been working at the Jewish Culture Festival office since 2005.

Among the 74 events in the main program, prepared by the Jewish Culture Festival Association, there were:

• 12 concerts
• 2 performances (street theatre and storytelling)
• 19 lectures, author meetings, and discussions
• 19 walks and guided tours
• 13 workshops
• 2 exhibitions
• 7 other events

Nineteen events in the main programme were created specifically for the 35th Jewish Culture Festival. They included four Polish music premieres and one world premiere of a musical work. We also livestreamed 21 events. For the first time, the Jewish Culture Festival crossed the threshold of a church, presenting two concerts there.

A detailed list of the main programme events of the 35th Jewish Culture Festival is provided below. The full programme of the 35th Festival is available on our website.

Our partners in organising the main program events were the Institute of Jewish Studies at Jagiellonian University, Taube Center for Jewish Life and Learning, the Jewish Religious Community in Kraków, Pro Musica Bona Foundation, Austeria Publishing House, Filia Publishing House, the Parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Brama Grodzka – Teatr NN, and Memorymorph.

This year’s accompanying events were organised by the Galicia Jewish Museum, JCC Krakow, Or Chadasz, and Teatr STU.

A total of 8,051 people attended the 35th Jewish Culture Festival

In addition to those who came to Kazimierz to attend the Festival events in person, several thousand people around the world watched the live streams of Festival events on our website. During the Festival, the livestreams received 7,130 views. Recordings of the concerts and lectures remain available online, so the number of views will continue to grow.

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During this period, the Jewish Culture Festival website recorded 124,737 page views, including 45,722 during the Festival itself (1–5 July 2026), and 26,963 users, of whom 8,938 visited the site during the 35th Jewish Culture Festival.

During the same period, the Festival’s Facebook profile was visited by 20,634 people. Our posts generated 307,200 views, reaching 76,600 users and generating 7,930 interactions. We gained 424 new followers.

The Festival’s Instagram account generated 509,500 views, with posts reaching 21,003 people and generating 9,384 interactions. 403 new followers joined us.

This year, we also launched our TikTok account. Our posts were viewed 69,400 times, received 1,500 likes and 128 comments, and were shared 8,000 times. We gained 40 new followers.

For the first time, we also promoted the 35th Jewish Culture Festival in collaboration with influencers: Miriam Synger / Jestem Żydówką (Facebook/Instagram Reel – reach of 13,000 people; photo post shared with 27,000 recipients) and VitaWita (5 video posts on Instagram, with a total of 19,439 views and 6,199 interactions).

As the figures above demonstrate, our social media posts reached nearly one million users!

The data above comes from social media analytics tools and website analytics.

• Large-format posters advertising the 35th Jewish Culture Festival, featuring the sponsors’ logos, were displayed on 8 advertising sites in central Kraków from 22 June to 5 July 2026 (reach: 410,000 / Koneser).
• Citylight posters featuring the visual identity of the 35th Jewish Culture Festival and the sponsors’ logos were displayed on 50 panels at tram and bus stops throughout Kraków from 22 June to 5 July 2026.
• Digital citylight advertisements were displayed at MPK Kraków stops in 13 locations from 25 June to 4 July 2026 (131,978 contacts / AMS).
• Digital advertisements were displayed on 36 screens in shopping centres across Kraków from 24 to 27 June 2026 (142,943 contacts / AMS).
• Two 35th Jewish Culture Festival promotional stands, featuring the Festival’s visual identity and information about the program and sponsors, were placed near the Festival tent on Józefa and Wąska Streets from 1 to 5 July 2026.
• Printed program brochures for the 35th Jewish Culture Festival were produced in a total print run of 11,000 copies (7,000 in Polish and 4,000 in English). They were distributed throughout Kraków via information points, partner and affiliated institutions, cafés, bars, pubs, and Festival venues. 100% of the printed brochure copies were distributed.

• Print advertisements promoting the 35th Jewish Culture Festival:
  • 10 June – Tygodnik Powszechny, full-page advertisement on the third cover, circulation: 30,000 copies
  • 19 June – Gazeta Wyborcza Co Jest Grane, Kraków and Warsaw editions, combined circulation: 27,582 copies
  • 1 July – Tygodnik Powszechny, full-page advertisement on the third cover, circulation: 30,000 copies
• A dedicated Festival feature in Gazeta Wyborcza Co Jest Grane, Kraków and Warsaw editions, combined circulation: 27,582 copies.
• Online advertising on wyborcza.pl (national and local editions), Wyborcza.biz, wysokieobcasy.pl, and gazeta.pl from 15 June to 5 July (79,320 impressions and 33,923 unique users).
• Media coverage and interviews in Gazeta Wyborcza, Karnet / Kraków Culture, and Gazeta Krakowska, as well as radio interviews on Radio Kraków, OFF Radio Kraków, and Polskie Radio.
• 25 radio advertisements (30 seconds each) broadcast on Radio Kraków from 30 June to 5 July 2026, as well as additional promotion of rebroadcasts of Festival concerts on Radio Kraków.
• Online promotional campaign on krakowculture.pl, including a dedicated article and Festival recommendation.
• Promotional campaigns on the websites and social media channels of the 35th Festival artists and our partners, including Hevre, JCC Krakow, and the Galicia Jewish Museum.
• Festival newsletter – 35 editions in Polish and English, sent from 16 June to 12 July 2026. The newsletter had 2,735 subscribers, with a total of 95,725 messages sent and an average open rate of 41.97%.

Radio Kraków rebroadcasts

Radio Kraków rebroadcast selected concerts from the 35th Jewish Culture Festival on Radio Kraków Kultura: Ola Bilińska, Selichot / Transformations, The Ziryab Trio, Frank London Festival Allstars, and the Cantors’ Concert. The broadcasts took place in two periods: 13–17 July 2026 and 17–21 August 2026.

The Hasidic stories from the volume edited by Prof. Marcin Wodziński and presented during the 35th Festival, read by Ewa Kaim, were recorded and broadcast on Radio Kraków as part of the Z radiowej biblioteki (“From the Radio Library”) series from 29 June to 3 July 2026.

Overall media reach

Between 1 May and 10 July 2026, a total of 804 media mentions of the Jewish Culture Festival were recorded. Their total reach was 1,731,483 people, including 863,353 people reached outside social media. The estimated advertising value (AVE) amounted to PLN 712,578.

The data above comes from social media analytics tools, website analytics, and Brand24.

Thank you!

The full list of donors and partners of the 35th Jewish Culture Festival can be found on our website.
You, too, can join them—become a Patron of the Jewish Culture Festival!

Events of the 35th Jewish Culture Festival

19 Lectures and Meetings

All lectures were created especially for the 35th JCF.

1. When Did the Gates of Schools Open to Galician Jews, and What Came of It? – Dr. Alicja Maślak-Maciejewska
2. Jewish Culture Festival – The Gate of the Heart – Janusz Makuch
   Live broadcast.
3. Religious Dialogue Today? – Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Rabbi Boaz Pash; moderated by Prof. Stanisław Krajewski
   Live broadcast.
4. Guardians of Heritage. Education, Narratives, Stories – Helise Lieberman, Adam Musiał, Marta Jankowska-Eichelberger
   In cooperation with the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland Foundation.
   Live broadcast.
5. The Jagiellonian Library as a Gateway to Knowledge. Prof. Zofia Ameisenowa (1897–1967) and Her Contribution to the Development of Jewish Studies – Dr. hab. Michał Galas, Jagiellonian University Professor
6. This Is Not Normal: Contemporary Antisemitism – A Structural Analysis – Prof. Deborah Lipstadt
   Live broadcast.
7. Strangers at the Gates: Migration in Biblical and Contemporary Contexts – Prof. Naomi Seidman
   Live broadcast.
8. Beasts of Every Kind – Monika Krajewska; moderated by Zofia Hartman
9. Gates of Knowledge – Jewish Libraries in Prewar Poland – Dr. Monika Biesaga; moderated by Dr. Marek Tuszewicki
10. Hillel: How Young Jews Find Themselves, Community and Shabbat – Barbara Czochara and Valeriia Beradze; in cooperation with Hillel Poland
    Live broadcast.
11. The Gates, Courtyards and Streets of Krakow in the Memories of Its Jewish Residents – Dr. Monika Stępień
12. Music Cannot Change the World Until It Changes Itself – Kobi Farhi / Orphaned Land
    Live broadcast.
13. Stories from the Gate. Lublin – Łukasz Stypuła
    Live broadcast.
14. The Organ and the Synagogue. An Unusual History – Jakub Stefek
    Live broadcast.
15. Hasidic Stories – Prof. Marcin Wodziński, Dr. Wojciech Tworek
    Live broadcast.
16. From Sacred Texts to Everyday Conversations: The History of the Hebrew Language – Maciej Tomal and Ofer Aderet; co-organized with the Institute of Jewish Studies, Jagiellonian University
    Live broadcast.
17. The Final Service: Loss, Mourning and the Burial Society – Sally Berkovic
18. Fifty Gates of Understanding: The Gate as a Meeting Point Between Humans and the Higher Worlds – Rabbi Boaz Pash
    Live broadcast.
19. The End of the World South of Tel Aviv – Jacek Tacik; moderated by Patrycjusz Wyżga
    Live broadcast.

• Recordings of the 35th JCF Concerts
• Recordings of the 35th JCF Lectures
• Player with Recordings of the 35th JCF Concerts and Lectures
• Photos from the 35th JCF
• 35th JCF Events Program
• Janusz Makuch: Gates of Yerushalayim

Jewish Culture Festival Association
ul. Józefa 36, 31-056 Kraków, Poland
T: +48 12 431 15 17
E: office@jewishfestial.pl
W: jewishfestival.pl
NIP: 676-20-55-190 | KRS: 0000168258

Janusz Makuch – Honorary Chair of the Board, JCF Association
Robert Gądek – Chair of the Board, JCF Association; Director of the Jewish Culture Festival
Katarzyna Wydra – Deputy Director of the Jewish Culture Festival
Michał Dziewit – Volunteer Manager
Julia Mrowca – Event Producer
Elisha Offenbach – Event Producer
Olga Sowa – Social Media
Aleksandra Noculak – Online Communications
Marek Suszkiewicz – Event Production
Maciej Fryc – Event Production
Eventstream – Live Streaming

Accounting and HR:
Maria Bobrowska, Elżbieta Woch-Stopa, Agnieszka Malec, Klaudia Czaja-Drążek

Volunteer Coordination:
Kinga Błażejowska, Filip Różak, Laura Słonina

JCF Photography:
Edyta Dufaj, Michał Ramus

35th JCF Visual Identity Design:
Studio Otwarte

35th JCF Visual Identity Implementation:
Studio Otwarte & Weird Gentlemen

The quotations featured in the introduction come from an anonymous 35th JCF audience satisfaction survey.