Cancellation of Polish Prime Minister's Visit to Israel Amid Rising Tensions Over the Holocaust

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister of Poland, canceled his official trip to Israel, which was scheduled to begin on Monday, February 18. According to Israeli news agencies and media, Mr. Morawiecki canceled his trip to Israel in protest against the repeated statements of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, during his visit to Warsaw last week regarding 'the complicity of Poles with the Nazis.' The Polish Prime Minister was supposed to participate in a meeting of the Visegrad Group in Jerusalem alongside leaders from several other Central European countries, such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. According to the Associated Press, the Polish Prime Minister announced the cancellation of his trip in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart on Sunday. Meanwhile, Poland announced that it would send Jacek Czaputowicz, the Foreign Minister, to the Visegrad meeting in Israel. Andrzej Duda, the President of Poland, suggested last Thursday that the location of the Visegrad meeting be changed from Jerusalem to Warsaw following the publication of Mr. Netanyahu's remarks about the past cooperation of Poles with the Nazis. This is the first time the Visegrad Group conference is being held in a country outside Central Europe and was supposed to reflect the recent closeness of relations between Central European governments and Israel. Despite signs of Poland's practical displeasure with the Israeli Prime Minister's remarks, Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly reiterated his views on the role of the Polish people in relation to the Holocaust. Initially, last Thursday, after visiting the Holocaust memorial site in Poland with his Polish counterpart and Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, he told Israeli reporters, 'No one has prosecuted him for saying that Poles were partners of the Nazis.' Journalists had asked Mr. Netanyahu about last year's law passed by the Polish parliament that criminalizes describing Poland as a partner in Nazi crimes. The Polish Foreign Ministry summoned Anna Azari, the Israeli ambassador in Warsaw, on Friday regarding Mr. Netanyahu's comments. The Israeli ambassador simultaneously stated that Mr. Netanyahu did not mean that the country of Poland was complicit with the Nazis but that there were Poles who were partners in Nazi crimes. The Polish Foreign Ministry stated on Friday that it accepted Israel's explanations. However, Mr. Netanyahu, on Friday evening while still in Poland, reiterated to Israeli reporters, 'I am now standing on Polish soil and I say that Poles were accomplices of the Nazis.' However, he added that he did not mean that the country of Poland committed crimes. Last year, Israel had a dispute with Poland over a draft bill that the Warsaw government had submitted for approval to its parliament, and after changes were made to the bill, the tensions between the two countries seemed to have subsided. The tensions between Israel and Poland have resurfaced as the Polish government is set to host the upcoming Middle East peace and security conference alongside the United States on February 13 and 14.