Last year marked the 36th anniversary of the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow. You may wonder why, in 2024, the 33rd and not the 37th JCF was held.
The reason is that initially, the Festival, was held every two years: after the first edition in 1988, its subsequent editions were held in 1990, 1992 and 1994, and only from the 4th edition onwards has the JCF been organized each year, although 2020 was also an exception, when, due to the pandemic, the Prologue of the 30th FKŻ was organized, lasting for 6 months – both online and onsite!
What was it like at the 33rd JCF?
This you can see on the 33rd JCF’s website and in the YouTube, where you will find clips from many unforgettable music events of the 33rd edition as well as earlier Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow – including also out flagship: the Shalom at Szeroka concert! And if you would like to return to our Festival lectures – you will find them at Spotify, where they are available as podcasts.
Last year’s edition was held under the theme Shema Yisrael | Ahava.
Shema Yisrael are the first words of the most important Jewish prayer, which is not only a confession of faith but also a declaration of belonging to the Nation of Israel.
Ahava, in turn, is Hebrew term for love – it is often used in the context of the Shema prayer, but it is also what we need most in today’s world.
The program of the 33rd JCF also included references to the tragedy of October 7th in southern Israel: meetings with survivors, an exhibition of works by artists from the attacked kibbutzim, films and debates showed how much the Jewish world changed after this massacre – not only in Israel, but also in the entire Diaspora.
A huge support for execution the Jewish Culture Festival have always come from the volunteers: The Machers.
For several years now, thanks to the support of the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps, our volunteer project, the Machers has gained a truly international dimension: we welcome young people from all over the world: in 2024 they came from 16 world countries, including Israel, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Tunisia, Turkey, Georgia, Moldova, the USA and many EU countries. They are invited to Krakow for a whole month to learn about the Jewish culture, to learn how to work at such a large international cultural event, and to prepare their own artistic project related to Jewish culture, which then becomes part of the JCF program. This year, under the supervision of Justyna Biernat, they prepared and recorded an audiobook with a Jewish legend from Chernivtsi – feel invited to listen to its English and French versions!
Moreover, since 2023, we have also been welcoming volunteers for long-term visits: this year Alexandra from Israel and Lucie from France spent six months in Krakow, helping us to organize the Festival and coordinating the work of the other volunteers.
