Being a Jew Today
in Poland, in Israel, in the World

Movie screening and a Discussion Panel (in English)

Sunday, December 29, 2024, 20:00
Where?  Menachem Begin Center in Jerusalem – see on Google maps

Proof of Identity
Dowód tożsamości

Movie directed by Mikołaj Grynberg (2021)

Followed by a discussion with
Noah Efron (philosopher, Bar Ilan University, Israel)
Paul Gross from the Menachem Begin Heritage Center
Jasmine Kainy (Israeli filmmaker, author of more than 20 documentary films)

Coorganized by the AEMJP & Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem

Proof of Identity – Dowód tożsamości, directed by Mikołaj Grynberg (2021), is an original record of touching conversations with representatives of various generations of Polish Jews in a fragile moment of Polish history, when the governing right wing party was showing signs of open hostility towards the community.
Where is a safe space today for being Jewish, in the early 21st century, and in particular after October 7, 2023 ? Polish diaspora offers a unique perspective on the fragility of the notion of “homeland”, which will be the subject of the discussion that will follow the movie.

Length:  41 minutes; language: Polish with English subtitles

Proof of Identity is the directorial debut of the writer, reporter and photographer Mikołaj Grynberg (finalist of the “Nike” Literary Award, laureate of the Warsaw Literary Premiere).

The film is an attempt to show the specificity of being a Polish Jew and living in a country whose history is full of events that have not happened anywhere else, but had a huge impact on the sense of identity among the Jewish community.

Our role

We know and admire Mikołaj Grynberg’s works on March 68 – the forced exodus of the Polish Jews. Now we were delighted to participate to the creation of his first movie.

We think that showing this movie today, creating an opportunity to talk about Jewish life, hopes and disappointments is particularly timely not only to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the POLIN Museum in Warsaw, but also to have a conversation in Israel about the meaning of Jewish identity in the contemporary world.

AEJMP funded the production of the movie « Proof of Identity »