The Polish/Jewish Exchange Program is a result of the long-standing collaboration between Forum for Dialogue and one of the most important Jewish organizations in the United States, the American Jewish Committee. Through the program, each year a group of Polish public opinion leaders gets acquainted with American Jewish communities, while in Poland we host delegations of AJC leaders from different regions in the US.

The program offers a unique opportunity for Polish opinion-leaders – journalists, scholars, artists, businessmen and non-governmental sector leaders – to get acquainted with the American Jewish Committee, understand its activities and – most importantly – to gain a Jewish-American perspective on Polish/Jewish relations. In the course of a week-long program, delegates visit Washington, Boston and New York. Participants deliberate on Polish/American relations with politicians, study the image of Poles in the US and how history and the Holocaust are taught and discussed in US schools. They speculate on the future of Polish/Jewish and Polish/American relations and what can be done to make them the best possible. Each year, a group of AJC leaders also makes a fascinating trip to Poland. We try to broaden the scope through which Poland is perceived in Jewish circles in the US, which is often limited to the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. We want to present an honest image of Poland– without embellishments, but without indulging in the dark tones either.

For AJC members, the week in Poland offers an opportunity to explore the modern face of the country and to better understand Polish/Jewish relations.

This is done through numerous meetings with dedicated experts as well as tours of Warsaw, Lublin, Kraków and Rzeszów and visits to memorial sites in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bełżec. The new monument and museum in Bełżec were created through cooperation between AJC and the Polish government. Forum for Dialogue introduces AJC guests to Jewish community leaders in present-day Poland, imparts knowledge about the history of Polish Jews and presents institutions that are dedicated to preserving Jewish memory and developing Polish/Jewish relations.

Visits of the Polish delegation in the US as well as that of AJC representatives in Poland present opportunities for informal meetings between delegation members and program alumni. Over two decades since the launch of the exchange program, around three hundred people from both countries have participated in this unique project. Through it, we are building a bridge of understanding between community leaders in Poland and the US. We believe that Polish/Jewish dialogue is significant in modern times and we are creating a human connection between two important organizations.

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