Knesset speaker says acting FM Katz was ‘telling the truth’ in remark about Poles

19 February 2019, 5:14 pm

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Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein defends his fellow Likud party member, acting foreign minister Israel Katz, over remarks that have infuriated Poland.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein seen during a memorial ceremony marking 19 years to the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, in the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 5, 2014 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Speaking at an annual event organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Edelstein says it is “the right of every senior Israeli official to tell the truth. For me, this is an example for the fragile relations between the countries.”

Katz said in media interviews earlier this week that Poles “suckle anti-Semitism with their mothers’ milk,” leading to Poland pulling out of a summit due to take place in Jerusalem this week and dressing down Israel’s ambassador Anna Azari.

Poland is demanding an apology from Israel, threatening that relations could take a “frosty turn.”