Cancellation of Central European Countries and Israel Meeting Following Increased Verbal Tensions

A senior Israeli minister's statement that "anti-Semitism is ingrained in Polish people from the milk of their mothers" has escalated tensions between Israel and Poland, leading the Czech Republic to support Poland and cancel a conference of Central European countries that was to be held in Israel. Meanwhile, leaders from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary had arrived in Israel on Monday, February 18, to participate in the so-called "Visegrád" group conference, which was set to begin on Tuesday. Concurrently, Israeli media reported that Poland's Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador in Warsaw for the second time in three days to express its objections. Since Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, referred to Poles as "accomplices of the Nazis" on February 14, tensions regarding Holocaust-era events between Israel and Poland have once again flared up after a period of calm. Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister of Poland, announced on Sunday during a phone call with Netanyahu that he was canceling his trip to Israel for the Visegrád conference, although Poland's Foreign Minister would still attend. The cancellation of the Polish Prime Minister's trip coincides with rising tensions over the Holocaust. Meanwhile, Israel Katz, a senior minister from the Likud party, stated on Sunday night that, "As Yitzhak Shamir (former Prime Minister of Israel) said, anti-Semitism enters the Polish people's souls with the milk of their mothers from infancy." Katz made these remarks shortly after Netanyahu had temporarily transferred the Foreign Ministry position, which he had held for years, to Katz due to internal party reasons. Following Katz's comments, the Polish Prime Minister gave the Israeli government a few hours to retract its position; Katz responded on Monday afternoon that he would neither retract nor apologize, as "history is history." In light of these statements, the Polish Prime Minister canceled the visit of Jacek Czaputowicz, the Polish Foreign Minister, to Israel. With the escalation of this crisis, the Czech Republic, while its senior delegation was arriving in Israel for the Visegrád conference, announced its support for Poland. Based on the Czech Republic's decision, the conference of the Visegrád group in Jerusalem was canceled. According to Israeli media, following these events, Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he would hold separate meetings with the leaders of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovenia. A law passed in Poland emphasizes that describing the country as an accomplice to Nazi crimes is a crime, as Poland itself was a victim of Nazi occupation. In this context, Poland summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest Netanyahu's remarks.