Morawiecki and Netanyahu hold talks over the controversial bill

PM Matuesz Morawiecki spoke on Sunday with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to resolve the recent diplomatic crisis sparked by the controversial Polish draft law which could make it illegal to attribute complicity in the Holocaust to Poles. Both sides agreed to set up teams to reach an understanding on the controversial Polish legislation that has cast clouds over the relationship between the two countries. The new bill, which yet has to be approved by the Senate and the president would make anyone who publicly ascribes blame or joint blame to the Polish nation or state for crimes committed by Nazi Germany or for war crimes or other crimes against humanity would face up to three years in jail. Also the phrase “Polish death camps” would be illegal. “We are open to dialogue, we want to discuss and investigate the historical truth,” Morawiecki said. The law would also apply to foreigners, which many claims would limit a historical research and discussion of Polish involvement in the Holocoaust. “This is a shameful disregard of the truth. It is a historical fact that many Poles aided in the murder of Jews, handed them in, abused them, and even killed Jews during and after the Holocaust,” said Israel's Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett. PM Netanyahu added that Israel has zero tolerance for “distorting the truth, rewriting history or denying the Holocaust.” “Every day, and especially on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember three things,” Netanyahu said. “First, the six million of our brothers and sisters who were annihilated in the Nazi inferno; second, the price humanity paid for failing to stand up on time and with the proper strength against a murderous ideology; and third, the constant need to continue and nurture the strength of the State of Israel vis-à-vis the regimes of modern fanaticism.” Israel said that it expects the Polish government to change the wording of the legislation before its final approval and to conduct a dialogue with Israel on the matter. The Polish government has refuted the claims saying that the bill was not intended to limit freedom to research or discuss the Holocaust, and will not apply to scientists and artists