Logo Polskiego Radia

US urged Israel to end row with Poland over anti-defamation law: report

PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk 13.04.2018 11:53
The United States has urged Israel several times in the last few weeks to try to resolve a row with Warsaw over a new law that criminalises blaming Poland for Nazi German atrocities during World War II, according to a report.
Photo: Activedia/pixabay/CC0 Creative CommonsPhoto: Activedia/pixabay/CC0 Creative CommonsFoto: pixabay.com/CC0

The anti-defamation law strained relations between Poland and Israel, both of which are US allies.

Barak Ravid, a journalist for Israel's Channel 10 news, cited an official as saying the Americans had told Israel that Poland was an important ally.

In an article published on the axios.com website, Ravid said: “A senior official at the Israeli foreign ministry told me: ‘The Americans made clear they don’t like the Holocaust law, think it is unacceptable and asked the Polish government to fix it. But at the same time they told us Poland is an important U.S. ally, especially in NATO, and also an Israeli ally and therefore there is a need to deal with the crisis carefully and not damage the alliance’."

Ravid said he had been told by senior Israeli officials that the US administration conveyed messages via several channels both to the Israeli government and to opposition leaders and asked them to “temper their public rhetoric against Poland.”

Ravid added that the White House and State Department had sent messages to Israel's ambassador in Washington, Ron Dermer, and to other diplomats at the Israeli embassy about the importance of relations with Poland.

Similar messages were passed from Washington to the Prime Minister's Office and the foreign ministry in Jerusalem, Ravid said.

The US State Department also asked the Israeli and Polish embassies to co-sponsor an annual Holocaust memorial day ceremony, according to Ravid.

Strained ties

Polish-Israeli ties became strained when the Polish parliament earlier this year passed a bill which could see a jail term imposed on anyone who accuses Poland of being complicit in Nazi German crimes during World War II.

Polish President Andrzej Duda later signed the bill into law while also referring it to the Constitutional Tribunal for review.

In Poland, the new rules were seen as a way of fighting the use of the phrase "Polish death camps," which many said implies the country's involvement in the Holocaust.

But commentators have said that Israel was concerned that the new law could mean penalties for anyone who criticised individual Poles' role in the Holocaust.

Israeli ambassador to Poland Anna Azari said that in Israel the law was "seen as creating a possibility of punishment for Holocaust survivors' testimony."

Polish Prosecutor-General Zbigniew Ziobro, who also serves as the country's justice minister, has asked the Constitutional Tribunal to deem part of the new law unconstitutional because it allows people outside of Poland to be investigated and tried for accusing the country of being jointly responsible for war crimes.

(pk/gs)

Source: axios.com

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us