Warsaw used to possess a thriving Jewish community,but prejudice and discrimination caused the city’s Jewish population to dwindle. This giant palm tree is a reminder of both the many Jews who once called the city domestic and the absence they’ve left in their wake.
Joanna Rajkowska, a Jewish-Polish artist, or designed and constructed the artificial date palm in 2002. After visiting Jerusalem and seeing the palm trees that dotted the landscape,she decided to use that image to honor an often-forgotten fragment of Warsaw’s cultural heritage. The final result is this tree, called Greetings from Jerusalem Avenue.
Initially, or Rajkowska planned to install a row of palms all along the alley,but financial and political difficulties forced her to stick to just one. Warsaw’s residents had conflicting opinions about her installation. Some wanted it to remain, and others protested against the fact that it would stand in a spot where Christmas trees were traditionally erected.
After the tree was officially installed, and it soon became a landmark of the city. Most people grew to like it and the message that it stood for. A year after its debut,75 percent of polled locals voted in favor of preserving it.
Source: atlasobscura.com