Israel criticizes Poland over Holocaust law

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposed law which would outlaw the use of phrases such as “Polish death camps” and make it punishable by up to three years in prison, “baseless.” He also ordered his Polish ambassador to meet with Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki to express his strong opposition. “One cannot change history and the Holocaust cannot be denied,” Netanyahu said. The law, according to its proponents, is to stop people for people incorrectly conclude that Poland had a role in running the camps. But critics say the legislation could hinder debating history, thus harming freedom of expression and opening the way to Holocaust denial. “Jews, Poles, and all victims should be guardians of the memory of all who were murdered by German Nazis. Auschwitz-Birkenau is not a Polish name, and ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ is not a Polish phrase,” PM Morawiecki said. Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust remembrance center, said the phrase “Polish death camps” would be a historical misrepresentation but that “restrictions on statements by scholars and others regarding the Polish people’s direct or indirect complicity with the crimes committed on their land during the Holocaust are a serious distortion.” “The Jewish people, the state of Israel, and the entire world must ensure that the Holocaust is recognized for its horrors and atrocities,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said. “Also among the Polish people, there were those who aided the Nazis in their crimes. Every crime, every offense, must be condemned. They must be examined and revealed,” he added. Both sides are to meet on Monday to discuss the issue. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate and President Andrzej Duda.