Poland and Israel have agreed to restore diplomatic relations “to their proper course” by redeploying their ambassadors after they were recalled last November over Warsaw’s decision to restrict the rights of the Jewish community to recover property stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
The decision follows a phone call between Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, who agreed to reappoint their ambassadors “within the next few days.”
The pair also stressed their commitment to resolving any future issues through “sincere and open dialogue.”
Duda’s foreign policy advisor, Jakub Kumoch, said after the call: “We are trying to mend our relations with Israel … No losers or winners. We give one more chance for normal relations.”
— Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) July 4, 2022
In August 2021, Poland enacted a new property law the restricts the rights of Jewish residents to recover property that was stolen from their ancestors during World War II and later confiscated by Poland’s communist regime. The law set a 30-year time limit to legal challenges to restitution claims and also banned any outstanding claims for the return of stolen property that have not reached a final decision in the last 30 years.
At the time, Duda defended the law, saying, “It puts an end to the state of uncertainty in which bona fide apartments and real estate, acquired in good faith, could be taken away by a simple administrative decision when their owner from over 70 years ago was found.”
Erstwhile Israeli Prime Minsiter (PM) Naftali Bennett, however, described the law as “shameful” and dismissive of Jewish sentiments. Likewise, then-Foreign Minister and current interim PM Yair Lapid called the law “anti-Semitic and unethical.” Subsequently, Israel recalled its ambassador to Poland, Tal Ben-Ari Yaalon. In response, the Polish Foreign Ministry announced that it will not be returning its ambassador to Israel for the time being, effectively downgrading its diplomatic relations to the chargé d’affaires level.
Poland has also opposed any attempts to compensate the families of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The country argues that it was also a victim of Nazi Germany and suffered greatly during the war and as a result, it is unfair to ask Poland to deliver reparations when it has not received compensation from Germany.
Poland was invaded by Germany during the war and several Polish citizens even assisted Jews in escaping the atrocities of the Nazi authorities. However, over the years, there has been evidence to show that several Polish villages facilitated the Holocaust by murdering and blackmailing Jews in exile.
However, while this has often stirred tensions between the two countries, Poland has also been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in the European Union.
We will firmly defend the dignity of Holocaust victims, their memory and their rights.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) July 23, 2021
This legislation will severely damage our relations with Poland. As I said before, Poland knows very well what the right and proper thing to do is (2/2)
Since their fallout towards end of last year, both sides have been working to revive relations. For instance, in February, Israel’s new ambassador to Poland, Yacov Livne, was sent to Poland to facilitate the evacuation of Israeli citizens from Ukraine and provide humanitarian aid and relief to the war struck country.
However, there is evidence that not all their differences have been resolved. For instance, in June, Israel cancelled its plan to send high school students to Poland for an educational trip, alleging that the Polish government has modified Holocaust education. Israel sends around 40,000 students to Poland each year to learn about the Holocaust.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz responded by saying that Israel has given the educational exchange a “negative image” by escorting the students with guards.
Przydacz stressed that Poland is an “antisemitic” and “dangerous” country.
However, Poland has recently witnessed an increasing number of hate speech incidents against its Jewish community and rising incidents of anti-Jewish street demonstrations, which forms part of a wider trend across Europe.