Volume 4 No 2 - Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

674 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF ANTISEMITISM [ VOL. 4:671Jews, was unveiled on the wall of what was the village synagogue, the samebuilding for which funds were lent to the Jews in 1718. Miron Gordon, thenIsrael’s ambassador to Poland, attended the dedication. In preparation forthe events, and with genuinely good intentions, the city organized an exhibitionof Jewish artifacts and published the journal The Historical Files ofTarnobrzeg, edited by the chairman of the historical society, Tadeusz Zych.The issue was devoted almost entirely to the subject of the town’s vanishedJews.Unfortunately, the sympathetic and laudable reasons for devotingalmost the entirety of the issue to the memory of Tarnobrzeg’s lost Jewswere neutralized by a variety of unfortunate statements in the journal. Byfar, the most egregious was the description and uncritical acceptance of thedetails surrounding the 1757 blood libel. In an article by Adam F. Baran, ofthe Institute of Political Studies at the Polish Academy of Science, the nowmore than two-century-old libel was restated as if it were true:Cultural separateness, [and] differences in dress, behavior, and many customssometimes motivated human hatred and dislike. This especiallyconcerned a memorable event, which for several generations inTarnobrzeg and elsewhere was associated with the production of thePassover “matzo,” the holiday cake.Immediately following this introductory material, a paragraph ofPolish text translated from a Latin document contemporary with the events1757 was presented:In the year 1757 on April 19, Vincent, previously called Berek, the Jewishlessee of a brewery in Miechocin, was buried in the Church ofDzikow, having been baptized before his execution. Likewise, a secondman, named Pinches, was buried in the same church and baptized in likemanner. The above-named, and those to be named below, cruelly (asbecame apparent from the investigation) slew a 15-year-old boy calledBartholomiej Kubacki of Miechocin. Joseph Skolnik [and] Lejbusz[Leib], remaining utterly stubborn in their faithlessness, were condemnedto burn. A third, Mosiek [Moshe], died following torture. There were alsomany others involved in this heinous crime who were sentenced to becaptivatio [imprisoned?]. 33. “Captivatio” was incorrectly translated into the Polish equivalent of“beheaded” in Tarnobrzeg’s historical journal. The actual meaning of the word isunclear in this context, but cannot be accurately rendered with the word“beheaded.” It does not mean that. “Imprisoned” is the general idea involved.