Lapid calls out Poland for bill limiting Holocaust compensation

Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned yesterday Polish Ambassador Marek Magierowski to express its disapproval over a law approved recently by the parliament in Warsaw for limiting restitution rights of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. A statement issued by the ministry yesterday said the director of the political department, Alon Bar, “expressed the State of Israel’s severe disappointment [at the legislation], which is expected to adversely affect, according to experts, 90% of property restitution requests from Holocaust survivors and their descendants.” In a counter demarche, the Polish Foreign Ministry invited Israel’s charge d’affaires, Tal Ben-Ari Yaalon, for a similar reprimand this afternoon.

An already existing rift between Jerusalem and Warsaw over Polish restitution widened over the past few days. On June 24, shortly after the discussion over the law in the Polish parliament, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued an especially harsh statement. “Poland's draft law will in effect prevent the restitution of Jewish property, or the provision of compensation, to Holocaust survivors and their heirs. It is a horrific injustice and disgrace that harms the rights of Holocaust survivors, their heirs and members of the Jewish communities that existed in Poland for hundreds of years. This is an incomprehensible action. This immoral law will seriously harm relations between the countries. We view with gravity the attempt to prevent the restitution of the property that was stolen by the Nazis [and their helpers] in European states during the Holocaust to their legal owners. No law will change history. It is a disgrace that will not erase the horrors or the memory of the Holocaust,’’ read the statement, adding that “Poland, on whose soil millions of Jews were murdered, knows what is the right thing to do.”

The Polish reaction came quickly. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told local press, “We believe that unfortunately what we’re dealing with here is a situation that certain Israeli politicians are exploiting for internal political purposes.” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on June 25, “I can only say that as long as I am the prime minister, Poland will not pay for German crimes: Neither zloty, nor euro nor dollar.”

Hitting back, Lapid tweeted yesterday, “The prime minister of Poland should check the facts again. Millions of Jews were killed on Polish soil, and no legislation will erase their memory. We’re not interested in Polish money and hinting at such is antisemitic. We are fighting for the memory of the Holocaust victims, for the pride of our people, and we won’t allow any parliament to pass laws whose goal is to deny the Holocaust.” At the abovementioned meeting in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Bar reiterated Lapid’s comments, noting the law is expected to adversely affect Israeli-Polish relations and it was not too late for Poland to halt these measures.