Politics

Israeli ambassador stirs more controversy referencing ‘Jews go back to Poland’

Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak
Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak
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Yacov Livne was embroiled in his third controversy in the last two months following his comments on X on Wednesday.

Commenting on the slogan “Jews go back to Poland,” used by protesters at Columbia University in New York, Israel’s ambassador in Warsaw failed to mention that the chambers located in Poland were built and used by Nazi Germany.

Protesters at Columbia University in New York are demanding the establishment of a Palestinian state. They are also using the slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Yacov Livne responded to a tweet by David Atherton, a journalist for The European Conservative, who accused environmental activist Greta Thunberg of shouting “Jews go back to Poland” during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Malmö. “Jews, go back to Poland! …Some anti-Semites seem to long for the Palestinian leader, Hajj Amin Husseini, a Nazi collaborator who also wanted the Jews to go to Poland, or more precisely to the gas chambers in Poland. Anti-Semites = danger,” Livne wrote.

Auschwitz Museum reacts

The Auschwitz Museum reacted to the diplomat’s post, pointing out that the comment should have been more precise about the history of the death camp. The ambassador then corrected his words. “Indeed, gas chambers were built by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland and there is no doubt about it. Nazi ideology was also spread during World War II by jihadist extremists. Their genocidal followers today (’From the river to the sea...’) are extremely dangerous and must be stopped,” wrote Israel’s ambassador to Poland.

Recent controversies

Livne has faced heavy criticism in recent months. Only last weekend, Livne criticized Poland’s support for full United Nations membership for Palestine, claiming it benefits Hamas and Iran. Livne also called the vote “wrong and harmful.”

Former Polish Ambassador to Israel, Maciej Kozłowski, has “made a very serious professional mistake”.

In April, seven volunteers of the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen, including a Pole, Damian Soból, died in an Israeli army’s attack in Gaza.
Livne’s vague statements and initial reluctance to issue an apology on behalf of Israel sparked outrage among Polish politicians and on social media.
Source: Polskie Radio 24
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