Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he understands the criticism of his compromise agreement with Poland over its disputed Holocaust speech law.
By Aron Heller
July 8 2018 11:37 AM
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he understands the criticism of his compromise agreement with Poland over its disputed Holocaust speech law.
His remarks came on Sunday as he tried to calm an uproar at home in which critics have accused him of whitewashing history for political considerations.
Mr Netanyahu and his Polish counterpart issued a joint statement last week praising Polish resistance to the Nazi occupation and distancing Poland from the Holocaust.
The move came after Poland agreed to scrap prison terms for those who criticise its wartime conduct.
#PressRelease Yad Vashem historians respond to the joint statement of the Governments of #Poland and #Israel concerning the revision of the 26 January 2018, amendment to Poland’s Act on the Institute of National Remembrance https://t.co/6moNSgd1Hw
The agreement was aimed at ending months of tension between the two generally friendly governments that was accompanied by a wave of anti-Semitic rhetoric in Poland.
Instead, the compromise sparked outrage in Israel over Mr Netanyahu’s seeming capitulation to the Polish narrative that they were only victims of the Nazis.
Historians say anti-Semitism was deeply rooted in Poland and that many Poles collaborated with the Nazis in the genocide.
In a rare rebuke of the Israeli government, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial slammed the statement, saying it contained “highly problematic wording” and “grave errors and deceptions”.
It warned that the law’s revision did nothing to change its essence, saying it could still impede historical research.
Even some of Mr Netanyahu’s coalition partners called the declaration disgraceful and demanded it be scrapped.
At his weekly Cabinet meeting, Mr Netanyahu defended the compromise statement while acknowledging it did not address all elements of the dispute.
“The statement published after the changing of the law was accompanied by a senior historian.
“However, after its publication different comments were heard,” he said.
“I listened closely to the comments of the historians, including about some things that were not included in the statement.
“I respect that, and it will be expressed.”
The declaration, which denounced “anti-Polonism” alongside anti-Semitism, was seen as a diplomatic coup for Poland, which has long sought international recognition of the massive suffering its people experienced under German occupation and for the heroism of its wartime resistance fighters.
For decades, Polish society avoided discussing the killing of Jews by civilians or denied that anti-Semitism motivated the deaths, blaming all atrocities on the Germans.
Raised on this narrative, many Poles react viscerally when confronted with the growing body of scholarship about Polish involvement in the killing of Jews.
In Israel, home to the world’s largest survivor population, many remember anti-Semitism in Poland from before, during and after the Second World War.
“Netanyahu must stop trading in history as if it were his personal property,” read Sunday’s main editorial in the Haaretz daily, titled History Is Not for Sale.
“Instead of getting mired in controversial issues and clumsy attempts to decide matters at the heart of vital historical research, it would be better to publish a document that leaves the work with historians on both sides,” it added.
Poland is among a growing number of nationalist governments in eastern Europe that have become more supportive of Israel in recent years.
Mr Netanyahu has expressed pride in such deepening ties and has sought to enhance them.
Many in Israel, particularly on the left, fear the newfound diplomatic backing has come at a cost.
Tamar Zandberg, leader of the left-wing Meretz party, said she is convening a parliament vote this week to disavow the agreement.
“Netanyahu sold his soul to the devil in a document that the greatest anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers in Europe would gladly sign off on,” she said.
“It is unbelievable that the prime minister of Israel is simply willing to sell out the history of our people for this nonsense.”
Press Association
By Matthew Lee US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has brushed aside North Korea’s accusation of “gangster-like” demands, maintaining that his third visit to the country was producing results.
By Associated Press Reporters Seven British divers are among a team of 18 who are undertaking the dangerous operation to free 12 trapped boys and their football coach from a partially flooded cave in Thailand.
By Helen Cahill, Press Association City Reporter Marks and Spencer has decided to forgo its usual trading update when it meets shareholders at its annual general meeting (AGM) next week.
What a difference a few weeks makes.
Transport Minister…
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has brushed aside North Korea’s accusation of…
The dangerous operation to free 12 trapped boys and their football coach from a…
Marks and Spencer has decided to forgo its usual trading update when it meets…
Turkey has dismissed thousands of public servants…
Iran has detained a teenager who posted dance…
Unprecedented rains that have killed at least 66…
A dangerous mission to rescue 12 Thai schoolboys…
The operation has begun to rescue 12 boys and their football coach who will need to…
Heavy rainfall has hammered southern Japan for the third day, prompting new…
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has delivered a dose of harsh reality to Donald…
Two million people have been ordered to evacuate following flash floods…
The operation to rescue 12 boys and their…
Divers continue to search the wreckage of…
The football coach trapped in a cave with 12…
Five people have been injured at the running of the bulls in Pamplona,…
Headcam footage from Thailand shows the…
Dawn Sturgess (44) is seen making a purchase…
A woman protesting against US immigration…
Police investigating the death of a six-year-old…
Rescuers are looking into options for rescuing…
