Poland recalls ambassador to Israel in row over World War II property claims
- Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday approved legislation that will severely restrict claims on properties seized by the state after World War II
- Jerusalem also recalled its envoy over a Polish law curbing World War II-era property claims, which the Israelis have condemned as anti-Semitic
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Poland on Monday recalled its ambassador to Israel two days after Jerusalem did the same over a Polish law curbing World War II-era property claims, which the Israelis have condemned as anti-Semitic.
President Andrzej Duda on Saturday approved legislation that will severely restrict claims on properties seized by the state after World War II.
Warsaw says it will bolster legal certainty in the property market but opponents say it is unjust to people with legitimate claims, including Holocaust survivors and their families.
The “ambassador to Israel will remain in the country (Poland) until further notice,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The move came, it said, in response to the “recent unjustified actions of the State of Israel, including the unfounded decision to lower the level of diplomatic relations” and “unacceptable statements” by Israel’s foreign minister, among others.
“The decision on the permanent level of the Polish diplomatic representation in Israel will be made in the following days,” the statement said, adding that Warsaw would also not send the deputy ambassador. “Another employee” would temporarily manage the embassy in Tel Aviv.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Saturday recalled Israel’s envoy to Poland over the new law, which he called “immoral, anti-Semitic”.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has slammed the legislation as “shameful” and said it showed “disgraceful contempt for the Holocaust’s memory”.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday the rejected accusations of anti-Semitism.
He said Israel’s decision to recall its charge d’affaires to Warsaw was “baseless and irresponsible” and accused the Israeli government of prioritising “party interests”.
“No one who knows the truth about the Holocaust and Poland’s suffering during World War II can accept this way of conducting politics,” he said on Facebook.
The issue of property claims is extremely complex. Before the war Poland was a multi-ethnic state including citizens who were Jews, Germans and Ukrainians, many of whom lost their properties. After the war, Poland’s borders were shifted westward, with some territory in the east given to Ukraine, while Poland gained some former German territory.
Poland has so far never passed comprehensive legislation that would offer restitution or compensation to former owners. Successive Polish governments have said the Polish state could not afford to do so.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
