The "Gratitude-Hakarat Ha-Tow" Award Gala at the Polin Museum in Warsaw.

On the 27th of June, a gala ceremony was held to present the "Gratitude-Gratitude-הכרת הטוב" award, granted for the first time by B'nai B'rith International. The award honors individuals and institutions working to preserve Poland's Jewish heritage and nurture Polish-Jewish relations. The ceremony, which took place at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, was part of the "Wasted Lessons of the Holocaust" international conference organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Polish branch of B'nai B'rith. The lectures and meetings took place on 26-28.06.2023, were held under the honorary patronage of the President of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, and among the speakers were such personalities as Marian Turski, Prof. Stanislaw Krajewski, Prof. Jan Grabowski, ed.Konstanty Gebert.

The award in the personality category was given to Urszula Antosz-Rekucka, representing the Mszana Dolna Shtetl, and in the institutional category the Dialogue Forum was honored. The statues were designed by Klara Jankiewicz.

Members of the Award chapter are: director general of B'nai Brith International Daniel S. Mariaschin, chairman of the Polish B'nai B'rith lodge Prof. Andrzej Friedman and previous chairman Dr. Sergiusz Kowalski, chairman of the Association of Krakowians in Israel Lili Haber, former Polish Foreign Minister Prof. Adam Daniel Rotfeld, deputy director of the B'nai B'rith International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy and director of legislative affairs Rabbi Eric Fusfield, and director of the B'nai B'rith World Center in Jerusalem Alan Schneider.

The award refers to the ancient biblical duty to honor God and man, expressed in the words of Psalm 56:13: "Upon me, O God, what I have vowed to Thee.To Thee I will give thanks" (translation by Czeslaw Milosz). Gratitude - Gratitude - הכרת הטוב is the first - intended to be an annual - award given by the worldwide Jewish community, which is co-presented by B'nai B'rith International, to Poles for their contribution to dialogue and preservation of Jewish heritage. We are proud that it was our president who received it as the first of the winners