While Amnon Lord finds himself in agreement with the substance of Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s condemnation of a recent law passed by the Polish parliament ending any Jewish efforts to seek restitution for property stolen during and after the Holocaust, he argues against antagonizing Warsaw. It is better, Lord writes, “to be smart, not just right.”
The important thing . . . is that the Poland of today, despite its nationalism, is a type of ally—or it was until elements in Israel decided gradually to destroy relations with it. Cooperation with [Warsaw] in terms of military aviation is a cornerstone of [Israeli] national security. The Poles also buy weapons and other systems from us. Poland is an important potential partner for Israel, together with the member countries of the Visegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) in its effort to crack the West European bloc that holds anti-Israel views. Despite the desecration of Jewish gravestones in Poland, we can dare say that the Jews living there today are safer than the Jews living in France and some parts of the United States.
More about: Holocaust restitution, Israel diplomacy, Poland