Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for saying Saturday that Jews were perpetrators in World War II, according to Reuters.
The Polish leader’s comments come only weeks after his country was widely lambasted for its decision to enact a law making it a crime to mention Poland may have contributed to the Holocaust and the coinciding war.
After a reporter asked Morawiecki during the Munich Security Conference if he could be penalized for recounting his Polish, Holocaust survivor mother’s experiences while in the country, Morawiecki said, “of course it’s not going to be punishable.”
“[It’s] not going to be seen as criminal to say that there were Polish perpetrators, as there were Jewish perpetrators, as there were Russian perpetrators, as there were Ukrainian, not only German perpetrators,” he continued, according to Reuters.
Netanyahu shot down at least part of that allegation after hearing the historically tone-deaf remarks.
“The Polish Prime Minister’s remarks here in Munich are outrageous,” Netanyahu said. “There is a problem here of an inability to understand history and a lack of sensitivity to the tragedy of our people. I intend to speak with him forthwith.”
Other influential Israeli’s also spoke out.
The Polish Prime Minister’s statement is antisemitism of the oldest kind. The perpetrators are not the victims. The Jewish state will not allow the murdered to be blamed for their own murder. I again call upon the Prime Minister to immediately recall our Ambassador to Israel.
— יאיר לפיד (@yairlapid) February 17, 2018
Poland’s Jewish population was violently hit the worst by the Holocaust out of any country, with some estimates saying that 2.9 million, or roughly half of the Jews killed during the massive murder campaign, coming from that country.
Send tips to eric@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Freedom of Speech Isn’t Free
The Daily Caller News Foundation is working hard to balance out the biased American media. For as little as $3, you can help us. Make a one-time donation to support the quality, independent journalism of TheDCNF. We’re not dependent on commercial or political support and we do not accept any government funding.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.