Polish Holocaust rescuers call for Polish-Israeli dialogue

The last surviving Christian Poles who helped Jews during the Holocaust are appealing to Polish and Israeli authorities to return to a path of “dialogue and reconciliation” amid a bitter diplomatic crisis sparked by a controversial new Polish law that criminalizes some forms of Holocaust speech.

The letter, published today, is addressed to the governments and parliaments of Israel and Poland.

It is signed by 50 Poles who describe themselves as the last survivors of the more than 6,700 Poles who have been recognized by Israel’s Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations” — gentiles who risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust.

They write that they oppose divisions being sown between Poles and Jews and seek a “future based on friendship, solidarity and truth.”

Earlier this month, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed the controversial legislation that outlaws blaming Poland as a nation for Holocaust crimes committed by Nazi Germany.

The legislation, proposed by Poland’s conservative ruling party, sparked a bitter dispute with Israel, which says it will inhibit free speech about the Holocaust. The United States also strongly opposes the legislation, saying it could hurt Poland’s strategic relations with Israel and the US.

— with AP