For 37 years — since May 1988 — the Jewish Culture Festival has been held in Kraków. In 2025, its 34th edition took place, dedicated to Kraków’s Kazimierz (in Yiddish: Kuzmir), which is the home and inspiration for the festival and its creators.
Over five days of the 35th JCF, we presented the most important figures of Jewish Kazimierz—both historical and more contemporary: from Remuh and Ozjasz Thon, through Sara Schenirer and Miriam Akavia, to Tadeusz Jakubowicz. Many events were devoted to the Yiddish language, which resonated in Kazimierz for centuries, as well as to klezmer music that filled prewar Kazimierz. Our guests were able to explore the topography of Kazimierz, discover its history, visit synagogues and prayer houses, and see cemeteries. Of course, there were also Jewish cooking workshops—this year entirely dedicated to Ashkenazi cuisine, which once reigned supreme in Kazimierz. As every year, the JCF music program was spectacular—despite the fact that, due to the outbreak of the war between Iran and Israel, we had to cancel visits by Israeli musicians and reorganize the program from scratch within just ten days before the festival.
“The festival was wonderful. Above all, I was captivated by the theme, which helped ground me in the here and now. These are difficult times, and I needed to step away from big politics, government decisions, and wars, and focus instead on what surrounds me, on what is close. Immersing myself in the past of Kazimierz—the stories of its residents, its music, its scents and flavors—made history once again meet the present. I have a strong sense of the uniqueness of this edition of the festival and the feeling that, amid all the turmoil happening around us, the participants managed to preserve something most precious: the encounter.”
This is just one of many positive opinions we received from participants of the 34th JCF.
In total, more than 18,000 people from all over the world (both on site and online) took part in the 149 events of the 34th Jewish Culture Festival. We welcomed 77 artists, instructors, and lecturers, and were supported by 46 volunteers from 18 countries.
On the website of the 34th JCF, you can find a detailed report on this edition of the festival, as well as recordings of concerts and lectures. Concert clips are also available on our YouTube channel, and photos can be found on Flickr.
Speaking of volunteers—thanks to funding from the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps, we were able to host for a month young people from all over the world. Together with their Polish peers, they not only helped us deliver the 34th JCF, but also worked with Andrew Melchior to create an innovative, AI-supported audio guide to Kazimierz. You can still use it—take a look here.
The work on the guide was coordinated by our long-term volunteers this year: Elisha Bar from Israel and David Wedekind from Germany.
The year 2025 was a year of change. Alongside the unexpected changes brought about by Iran’s missile attacks on Israel, there were also changes that had been long prepared, carefully thought through, and… natural..
As of 13 November 2025, Robert Gądek has been the CEO of the Board of the Jewish Culture Festival Association. He has worked at the JCF office since 2005 as Janusz Makuch’s deputy, and as of 1 January 2026, Robert will also assume the position of Director of the JCF.
“After thirty-seven years since the founding of the Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków, I have decided to step down from the position of its director. For me, this is the natural course of things, if we assume that the purpose of the Festival is its continuity and constant development,” wrote the founder and director of the JCF, Janusz Makuch.
And although Janusz, upon reaching retirement age, is stepping down from his formal roles in the Board of the Association and the festival, he remains with us as the creator and curator of the festival’s program. read more
Changes also took place at Cheder. Since October, Cheder has been more than just a café—it is now also a place where you can enjoy delicious breakfasts and lunches. And not only those inspired by the Middle East, but also by an even closer East to us: Ukraine. Your favorites—shakshuka, hummus, baklava, and coffee brewed in a finjan—now share the Cheder menu with syrnyky, Odessa-style forshmak, kugel, raspberry infusions, cocoa, and omelets.
After this first step of necessary changes, we will be back next year with a year-round program at Cheder, along with several new offerings. We’ll tell you more about that very soon on Cheder’s social media—are you already following us? If not, we invite you to join us here: Facebook | Instagram.
In November 2025, Janusz Makuch and Robert Gądek took part in the International Music Showcase Festival in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Over six days, they attended more than 70 concerts, performances, happenings, and exhibitions, showcasing what Israel has to offer the world. Which of these presentations will you see at upcoming editions of the Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków? You’ll find out soon.
Unfortunately, this year was also a time of farewells to people who were very important to us. In February, Cantor Benzion Miller passed away, and in September, Tad Taube. We said goodbye to our wonderful friends, thanks to whom the festival became what it is today.
The Cantors’ Concert as part of the 34th JCF was dedicated to Benzion Miller—whose mastery on the stage of the Tempel Synagogue you had admired for over 30 years—and to Tad Taube, thanks to whom the JCF was able to become an international, highly regarded presentation of contemporary Jewish culture in his beloved Kraków.
Cantor Benzion Miller, 1947 - 2025
Tad Taube, 1931 - 2025
Thank you for another shared year—our 37th in a row! At a time when antisemitism is on the rise around the world, thanks to you we have been able to create a space of community, understanding, dialogue, closeness, and mutual respect in Kazimierz. We hope you will stay with us in the years to come—together, let us show that a world of respect and understanding is not a utopia, but a reality that only we can create and nurture.
See you in a New Year!
photos: Edyta Dufaj, Michał Ramus
