Australian The Age newspaper publishes Arnold Zable’s article „Edelman’s spirit challenges the rising nationalist right in Europein which Open Republic’s Paula Sawicka talks about Edelman’s ideals, about the growth of hatred in Poland and about the recent independent celebrations of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Anniversary.

„Edelman would have been deeply disturbed by the recent shift to the right in his native Poland, and the rise of authoritarian leaders such as Viktor Orban in Hungary and Czech President Milos Zeman” – writes Zable, adding that in his opinion Edelman “would have been appalled by Zeman’s anti-Romany racism, and would have supported the Roma community’s insistence that the Czech Republic is also their homeland”.

“The Age” quotes Paula Sawicka:  “anti-Semitic, racist, discriminatory and hateful facts are present in our public life. They grew because there was too little or any reaction of public opinion. Public figures and perpetrators regarded this as consent, permission. Fifteen years ago, Marek Edelman warned us that even the smallest evil can grow. The first answer should always be to protest and to not remain indifferent.”

“Edelman – continues Zable –  defended the victims of other genocides, and persecuted minorities. I think that always, whoever the victim oppressed is, one must be on his or her side, he said.”

Paula Sawicka also reminds us about another important part of Edelman’s legacy, one that should be interpreted as a call to self-improvement and a rejection of the impulse to meet hatred with hatred. „We must teach at schools, preschools and universities that hatred is evil – Edelman said.  “To hate is easy, love requires effort and sacrifice”.

Article in The Age