The Polish Foreign Ministry has summoned Israeli Ambassador to Warsaw Anna Azari over conflicting media reports about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks about the Holocaust, specifically the comments made in reference to Poland's involvement with Nazis
WARSAW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2019) The Polish Foreign Ministry has summoned Israeli Ambassador to Warsaw Anna Azari over conflicting media reports about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks about the Holocaust, specifically the comments made in reference to Poland's involvement with Nazis.On Thursday, Netanyahu commented on a law passed by Poland that criminalized blaming the Polish nation for Holocaust crimes, reportedly saying that "the Poles collaborated with the Nazis and I don't know anyone who was ever sued for such a statement." Meanwhile, some media have reported that Netanyahu was speaking about the Polish nation as a whole rather than a group of Poles.
"Israeli Ambassador Anna Azari has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry for clarifications in connection with an Israeli newspaper's article concerning the statement by the Israeli prime minister," the ministry said.
Azari, for her part, said that some media had misquoted Netanyahu, adding that she was present at the briefing when the remark was made.
"He [Netanyahu] did not say that the Polish nation collaborated with the Nazis, but only that no one was summoned to court for mentioning those Poles who collaborated with them," Azari said, as quoted by the press service of the Israeli Embassy in Poland.
Krzysztof Szczerski, the head of the Polish president's cabinet, said earlier on Friday that Warsaw had received official explanations from Israel.
In March, Poland passed a bill criminalizing any accusations against Poland of complicity in war crimes during World War II, including the Holocaust. The legislation aimed to eliminate public misattribution of responsibility for Nazi crimes to the Poles. The law was criticized by a number of states, which argued that it distorted the historical truth.
