Polish Senate backs controversial Holocaust law
Relations between Poland and Israel continue to come under strain after lawmakers backed the contentious legislation
Relations between Poland and Israel nose-dived on Thursday after the Polish Senate joined lawmakers in the lower house by voting to enact a law that criminalises reference to Poles’ complicity in the Holocaust.
The controversial bill now only needs the signature of the Polish president to become law, at which point anyone referring to ‘Polish death camps’ or Polish collaboration with the Nazis during the Holocaust will risk three years in jail.
It had the support of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party, which said the law was needed to protect the country’s reputation and to make sure historians acknowledge that Poles as well as Jews were killed by the Nazis.
“We, the Poles, were victims, as were the Jews,” Deputy Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. “It is a duty of every Pole to defend the good name of Poland. Just as the Jews, we were victims.”
But the news enraged Israeli ministers, who broke their silence after Poland’s Senate voted overwhelmingly to legislate, with Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recall Israel’s ambassador.
Ahead of the vote, Netanyahu had said that Israel had “no tolerance for the distorting truth, rewriting history or denying the Holocaust,” but Katz said the Senate’s actions “constitute a denial of responsibility and of Poland’s role in the Jewish Holocaust”.
Tempers had flared earlier in the week when Poles took unkindly to comments from Israeli politicians like Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who said the bill “should be buried in the Polish ground, which is soaked with the blood of Jews”.
The head of a Polish state-run TV channel later said on-air that the camps should instead be called “Jewish camps,” asking: “Who ran the crematoria there anyway?”
Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Jerusalem “adamantly opposed” the bill, adding: “Israel views with utmost gravity any attempt to challenge historical truth. No law will change the facts.”
Likewise, Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Galant called Poland’s actions “de facto Holocaust denial”.
Members of the Israeli Knesset may now enact laws in retribution, criminalising Holocaust denial and the whitewashing of any complicity in the crimes of the Holocaust.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.