Jewish property during the Holocaust sparks a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Poland

Occupied Jerusalem -

The diplomatic crisis between Israel and Poland is escalating against the backdrop of a debate between Tel Aviv and Warsaw over a bill related to the restoration of disputed Jewish property since World War II. Cut ties between the two sides.

Diplomatic tension increases between Tel Aviv and Warsaw, and ambassadors are summoned and reprimanded, before the bill is submitted to the Senate, the first chamber of the Polish parliament, for final approval, in an attempt to reach understandings that guarantee the Polish government's pledge to pay compensation for Jewish property.

The bill, if approved, would prevent the "restitution of Jewish property" seized by the Nazis during World War II, which would affect up to 90% of requests for property restitution by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The statements of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, expressed by the new minister, Yair Lapid, reflected the principled position of Tel Aviv, which adheres to Jewish property, and rejects the approval of the Polish House of Representatives on the draft law that will apply the statute of limitations to property return claims.

Israel is very upset that Poland has passed a law refusing to return the property of Jews who were killed by the Nazis on its land on the eve of World War II

The same Israel that enacted a law prohibiting the return of the property of Palestinians who were displaced in 1948

Israel is hypocrisy on the ground

— Dr. Saleh Al-Naami (@salehelnaami) June 29, 2021

Bias and clash

But the statements of Minister Lapid, who came from a Hungarian family who survived the Holocaust, also reflect a shift in Israeli diplomacy that prevailed during the rule of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was characterized by siding with Eastern European countries, and deliberately clashing with the European Union.

Contrary to Netanyahu's approach, the new Israeli government headed by Naftali Bennett is heading to improve relations with the European Union, as the Israeli Foreign Ministry headed by Lapid considers relations with the Union a strategic and essential asset for Israel, knowing that Europe is Israel's largest trade and economic partner.

Israeli analysts and researchers believe that Minister Lapid, unlike Netanyahu, sees the European Union as a source for determining democratic standards and values ​​and human rights, values ​​that have been retracted by successive governments headed by Netanyahu in their dealings with Western European countries and their alignment with Eastern European countries in the hope of obtaining their support for the policies of Tel Aviv. The Israeli Foreign Minister also views the European Union as a source of political and security support, and a partner in financing research and basic innovation in Israel.

According to Nimrod Gorn, director of the Israeli Institute "Mitvim", which specializes in foreign policies for Israel and the Middle East, the current diplomatic crisis between Israel and Poland is presented by a previous tension when the Polish Senate approved in February 2018 a law criminalizing those who accuse Poland of being responsible for the Holocaust.

But the current tension, and despite the principled position on compensation for Jewish property during the Holocaust, according to Gorn, "carries with it changes in Israeli foreign policy in general, and with Europe in particular, that Lapid expressed when he responded to Washington's request that Israel join a statement prepared by Canada to condemn China." In the Human Rights Council, which constitutes a change in the policy followed by Israeli diplomacy in its relationship with China.

Israel calls # # Ssador_bulenda to protest against the "property law" the

Israeli Foreign Ministry said that the

law is expected to adversely affect 90 percent of the

requests made by the

survivors of the

Nazi Holocaust and their descendants to restore Jewish property in Poland

https://t.co/UE8NxaxmJV

— ANADOLU AGENCY (EN) (@aa_arabic) June 27, 2021

understandings and relationships

The director of Mitvim believes that the Israeli Foreign Ministry is moving, regardless of the issue of compensation for Jewish property, towards investing in relations with Western Europe and restructuring Israeli diplomacy with the European Union and America, and moving away from Eastern European countries that have shown support for Netanyahu’s approach and policies, especially with regard to the Palestinian issue, the settlement project, and the plan to annex parts From the West Bank to Israeli sovereignty, in contrast to the position of the European Union, which opposed Netanyahu's policies.

Despite the tension and the escalation of the crisis between Israel and Poland, Nimrod Goren rules out that this will lead to the severing of diplomatic relations between the two parties, due to the trade and economic relations that link them and security cooperation.

The Israeli researcher stresses that Tel Aviv will tend to reach a formula of understandings with Warsaw regarding compensation for the stolen property of the Jews, without compromising on the historical narrative related to the Holocaust.

Legislation and compensation

In the same direction, the spokesman for the "Peace Now" bloc, Adam Clare, who is the son of a Jewish family of Polish descent who survived the Holocaust, rules out that the diplomatic crisis will lead to the severing of diplomatic relations between Israel and Poland, but on the other hand he believes that the alliance of right-wing currents - which governs some Eastern European countries, including Poland and Hungary, which enjoyed diplomatic support and harmony from Netanyahu, are about to collapse, while the new Israeli Foreign Ministry seeks to find a state of balance through diplomacy and rapprochement with the European Union.

Claire adds that the Israeli governments, despite their adherence to the historical narrative about the Holocaust and the need to compensate the Jews for their property, are trying the massive compensation requests that have been submitted since 2015 to interfere in Polish internal affairs, including Polish legislation related to the historical narrative, which confirms that the Polish people were also victims of the Nazis.

The spokesman for the "Peace Now" bloc, speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, explained that he understands the Israeli side, and its adherence to the right of the Jews to compensation for their property, and he also understands the Polish people's assertion that they were also a victim of Nazism and the Soviet occupation, which seized all property and property after World War II. .

Claire refuses to hold the Polish people responsible for the Holocaust and the war that killed 6 million Poles, 3 million of whom were of Jewish origin.

However, the same speaker believes that the Israeli governments are dealing with “duplicity and hypocrisy,” asking, “What about the rights and property of the Palestinians that were stolen from them by the Jews during the Nakba in 1948?” He adds, “Let’s take a moment to look inside before we deal with the laws of other countries, one of the most important The historical laws adopted by the State of Israel in 1950 bear the title (Absentees’ Property Law) and seize all Palestinian refugees’ property and real estate.”