Israel, Poland begin normalising ties after halt over Polish Holocaust law

Poland and Israel have begun the process of normalising their diplomatic relations after a halt for nearly a year over a Polish Holocaust-related law, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced yesterday.

The remarks came in a press conference after he met with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, in the Polish capital city of Warsaw.

“We agreed that it was time to get back to normal relations,” Duda said on Twitter, adding that the Israeli Ambassador, Yacov Livne, had officially presented his credentials as a “first step” towards normalising ties between the two countries.

On his part, Herzog thanked Duda for the move, describing it as an “important first step to advancing Israeli-Polish relations.” “I hope to receive the letters of credence of the new Polish ambassador in Israel soon,” he noted.

Thank you President @AndrzejDuda for receiving Ambassador @YacovLivne's credentials: an important first step to advancing Israeli-Polish relations. I hope to receive the letters of credence of the new Polish ambassador in Israel soon.🇮🇱🇵🇱 https://t.co/d7ZI9q7PWv

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 12, 2022

In 2021, Israel downgraded relations with Poland in protest at the Polish president’s signing of a law restricting the possibility for World War II Holocaust survivors to receive compensation for property they had stolen from them in Poland. In response, the then-Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid withdrew his country’s ambassador to Warsaw.

The Polish Foreign Ministry said it would take similar steps.

READ: Polish Jews accuse Israel of creating unnecessary crisis over property law