Poland summons Israeli ambassador over Yad Vashem social media post

Poland summons the Israeli ambassador, Yaakov Finkelstein, over a post on X from Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski writes on X.

Sikorski is protesting against a social media post yesterday in which Yad Vashem appeared to refer to Poland as the leader in taking certain discriminatory steps against Jews leading up to the Holocaust.

“Poland was the first country where Jews were forced to wear a distinctive badge in order to isolate them from the surrounding population,” the post says, linking to an article on the topic. “[On this day] 23 November 1939 Hans Frank, the governor of the Generalgouvernement issued an order that all Jews aged 10 and above must wear a white cloth armband 10 cm wide marked with a blue Star of David on their right arm.”

Sikorski previously said the post should make it clear Poland was “German-occupied” at the time. Yad Vashem later reshared the post, writing, “As noted by many users and specified explicitly in the linked article, it was done by order of the German authorities.”

But today, Sikorski replies, “Since the misleading post has not been amended, I have decided to summon the ambassador of @Israel.”

The Israeli embassy in Poland does not immediately address the issue on X. Sikorski’s complaint is the latest in a years-long string of disputes between Israel and Poland over Poland’s role in the Holocaust, and Holocaust memory in the country.

Since the misleading post has not been amended, I have decided to summon the ambassador of @Israel to @MSZ_RP

— Radosław Sikorski ???????????????? (@sikorskiradek) November 24, 2025

The Auschwitz Memorial, which runs the site of the former Nazi death camp in Poland, also criticized the Yad Vashem post.

“It seems that if anyone should know historical facts, it is @YadVashem,” the memorial posted on X. “They should be fully aware that Poland at that time was occupied by Germany, and that it was Germany that introduced and enforced this antisemitic law.”

Dani Dayan, Yad Vashem’s chair, defended the museum in a post earlier today.

“Yad Vashem presents the historical realities of Nazism and WWII, including countries under German occupation, control or influence,” he wrote. “Poland was indeed under German occupation. This is clearly reflected in our material. Any other interpretation misreads our commitment to accuracy.”