Israel–Poland relations

Israel–Poland relations comprise diplomatic relations between Israel and Poland. At least 220,000 Israeli citizens are of Polish-Jewish origin.[1] Both countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the United Nations.

Israel-Poland relations

Israel

Poland

History

Shimon Peres in Poland

From the late 900s, Poland was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. In World War II and the Jewish genocide perpetrated by Germany, much of Poland's Jewish community was wiped out and the few who survived emigrated to other countries. Some 70,000 immigrated to Israel.[2]

On 29 November 1947 Poland voted in favor of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which led to the establishment of the state of Israel. On 19 May 1948 Poland recognized, and established diplomatic relations with, Israel.[3] In May 1948 Polish-born David Ben-Gurion became the new country's first prime minister. In September 1948 Israel opened its first diplomatic mission in Warsaw.[2] In June 1967, after the Six-Day War, Poland joined the Soviet-controlled Eastern Bloc in severing diplomatic relations with Israel.[3] In 1986 Poland initiated contacts with Israel. The two countries soon opened interest offices in each other's capitals, and in 1988 an Israel-Poland Chamber of Commerce was established.[4]

Post Communist era

In 1989 Poland's communist government fell, and in November 1989 Polish-born Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres visited Poland, paving the way for resumed diplomatic relations. During his visit, Peres met with Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski and Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki.[5] Full diplomatic relations were restored on 27 February 1990, leading to expanded political, military, economic, and cultural cooperation between the two countries.[3] In May 1991 Polish President Lech Wałęsa paid a visit to Israel.[6]

21st century

In February 2015 Poland and Israel celebrated 25 years of re-established diplomatic relations between them.[7]

Trade and transportation agreements

In 1995, Israel signed an Association Agreement with the European Union which includes free trade and came into effect in 2000.[8] In 2004, Poland joined the European Union and trades freely with Israel. In 2016, trade between Israel and the European Union totaled €34.3 billion Euros[9] of which trade between Israel and Poland totaled US$682 million.[9] Israel's main exports to Poland include: gas turbines, packaged medicaments, calcium phosphate, fruits and vegetables and medical instruments. Poland's main exports to Israel include: food based products, textiles processing machines, vehicle chassis, cars, buses, dairy and wheat.[9]

There are regular flights between Israel and Poland with the following airlines: Arkia, El Al, Enter Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Ryanair, Travel Service and Wizz Air.

State visits

Presidential and Prime Ministerial visits from Israel to Poland[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
Presidential and Prime Ministerial visits from Poland to Israel[2][17][18][19][20][21]

Bilateral relations

Polish consulate, Jerusalem

Over the years, both Israel and Poland have signed numerous bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Cooperation in Culture, Science and Education (1991); Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (1991); Agreement on Cooperation in Culture, Science and Education (1991); Air Transport Agreement (1991); Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (1992); Agreement in the field of Economy, Science and Technology regarding Cooperation Applied to Agriculture and Food Industry (1993); Agreement on Technical Cooperation in Dairy Development (1997); Agreement on Cooperation in Tourism (1999); Agreement on the Abolition of Visa Requirement for holders of Ordinary and National Passports (2000); and an Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters (2001).[22]

Diplomatic incidents

In early 2018 both chambers of the Polish parliament (the Sejm and Senate) adopted an Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance, criminalizing the ascription to Poles collectively of complicity in World War II Jewish-Holocaust-related or other war crimes committed by the Axis powers, and condemning use of the expression, "Polish death camp".[23][24][25] The law sparked a crisis in Polish-Israeli relations.[26] At the Munich Security Conference on 17 February that year, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said "it is not going to be seen as criminal to say that there were Polish perpetrators, as there were Jewish perpetrators, as there were Russian perpetrators, as there were Ukrainian perpetrators, not only German perpetrators."[27][28] His remark prompted a controversy, and condemnation by prominent Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[29][30][31] The crisis was resolved in late June that year when the Polish and Israeli prime ministers issued a joint communiqué endorsing research into the Jewish Holocaust and condemning the expression, "Polish concentration camps".[32]

Relations again deteriorated in February 2019 when during a visit to Poland, Netanyahu said, "Poles collaborated with the Nazis". Misquotes of this in the media as "the Poles collaborated with the Nazis" led Morawiecki to consider cancelling his planned visit to Israel the following month for a Visegrad Group summit.[33] Netanyahu's office clarified that this was a misquote by the Jerusalem Post, and he did not say "The Poles" but "a not insignificant number of Poles", an explanation accepted by the Polish government.[34] However, the dispute reignited 3 days later, when Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz claimed that "the Poles imbibe antisemitism from their mothers’ milk" and subsequently refused to apologise, resulting in Poland pulling out of the Visegrad Group summit altogether, leading to its cancellation.[35] U.S. Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher remarked that there was no room for offensive comments,[36] and asked Israel to apologize.[37] New Right leader and cabinet minister Naftali Bennett noted that his wife's family lived four years in a forest in Poland and were finally murdered by Poles.[38]

In February 2019, Poland cancelled an Israeli official delegation trip to Poland.[39] In May 2019, a man was arrested for spitting at Polish ambassador Marek Magierowski while he was sitting in his car near the embassy. The man apologized and explained that he had been upset by an antisemitic slur by an embassy guard.[40] Following comments by the Polish Prime Minister calling the incident "xenophobic", 29 former Polish ambassadors signed a letter criticizing the Polish government's response.[41]

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References

  1. Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics
  2. History of Relations
  3. Cooperation between Poland and Israel
  4. "Israel-Poland Chamber of Commerce". Archived from the original on 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  5. Peres visit could restore Polish-Israeli ties
  6. Walesa, In Israel, Regrets Poland’s Anti-Semitism
  7. 25th anniversary of the resumption of Polish-Israeli diplomatic relations
  8. Israel - Trade - European Commission
  9. OEC: Poland
  10. Herzog Unveils Memorial Stone in Emotional Visit to Auschwitz
  11. Gore Congratulates Poland on its Democracy
  12. Israeli PM Ariel Sharon Visits Auschwitz Nazi Death Camp
  13. President Katsav visits Poland
  14. Peres in Poland
  15. Netanyahu, in Poland, calls for peace talks ‘without delay’
  16. President Rivlin begins official visit to Poland
  17. Address by Aleksander Kwaśniewski
  18. Polish President Lech Kaczyński visits Israel
  19. Official visit of the President of Poland (Komorowski) to Israel
  20. Polish PM Involved in Motor Vehicle Accident in Israel
  21. Jerusalem, Warsaw seek enhanced ties as Polish President visits Israel
  22. Bilateral Agreements between Israel and Poland
  23. Israel and Poland try to tamp down tensions after Poland’s ‘death camp’ law sparks Israeli outrage, Washington Post, 28 January 2018
  24. Israel and Poland clash over proposed Holocaust law, Reuters, 28 January 2018
  25. The Controversy Around Poland’s Proposed Ban on the Term “Polish Death Camps”, Smithsonian.com, 29 January 2018
  26. News, ABC. "The Latest: Party head: Israel confirms Polish view on Nazis". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  27. ""Jewish perpetrators" remark reignites Poland Holocaust dispute". CBS News. 19 February 2018.
  28. "Statements by Mateusz Morawiecki and Sebastian Kurz". www.securityconference.de. Archived from the original on 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  29. ""Jewish perpetrators" remark reignites Poland Holocaust dispute". Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  30. "Benjamin Netanyahu attacks Polish PM for saying Jews were among perpetrators of the Holocaust". The Independent. 18 February 2018.
  31. "Polish Embassy in Israel Vandalized After Polish PM's Controversial Remarks". VOA News. 18 February 2018.
  32. "The Latest: Party Head: Israel Confirms Polish View on Nazis". Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  33. "Polish PM 'seriously considering' cancelling Israel visit". Arutz Sheva. 15 February 2019.
  34. "Poland moves to end spat with Israel over PM comments, blames media manipulation". 15 February 2018.
  35. "ANATOMY OF A CRISIS: HOW ISRAEL-POLISH RELATIONS COLLAPSED". Jerusalem Post. 18 February 2019.
  36. "Siding with Poland, US slams Israeli FM's 'offensive' anti-Semitism remark". Times of Israel. 19 February 2019.
  37. "US envoy calls on FM Katz apologize to Poland for anti-Semitism remark". Times of Israel. 20 February 2019.
  38. Bennett on Poland: We cannot allow anyone, anywhere to rewrite history
  39. Poland cancels Israeli officials’ trip over Holocaust property restitution row
  40. Polish President Denounces 'Hate Crime' After Israeli Spits on Ambassador, 15 May 2019, Haaretz
  41. Polish ex-diplomats say Warsaw officials politicizing Israeli spitting incident, Times of Israel, 19 May 2019
  42. Embassy of Israel in Warsaw
  43. Embassy of Poland in Tel Aviv
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.