US ‘disappointed’ by authorization of Holocaust law in Poland

The United States said Tuesday it was “disappointed” that Poland’s President Andrzej Duda authorized a law making it illegal to attribute Nazi crimes to the Polish state.

The State Department had warned last week that such a law could have “repercussions” on Poland’s relationship with the United States.

“The United States is disappointed that the president of Poland has signed legislation that would impose criminal penalties for attributing Nazi crimes to the Polish state,” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement.

The law has set off a furious diplomatic row with the United States and Israel.

Duda said the law will now go before Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal for a ruling on whether it conforms with free speech guarantees.

“Enactment of this law adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry,” Tillerson said, echoing Israeli criticism of the legislation.

Tillerson referred to Poland as “our strong ally,” and acknowledged that terms like “Polish death camps” were “painful and misleading.” But he said fundamental freedoms must be protected in combatting historical inaccuracies.

“We believe that open debate, scholarship, and education are the best means of countering misleading speech,” he said.

The bill prescribes penalties for those who blame Poles as a nation for crimes committed by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Duda’s office confirmed he enacted the law on Tuesday, about six hours after he announced he planned to do so, over protests from Israel, the US, and the Jewish world.

But Polish diplomats in Israel told The Times of Israel on Tuesday evening that the legislation had yet to be signed and declined to offer an estimate on when Duda would ratify the legislation.

Earlier on Tuesday, Duda said he would also ask Poland’s constitutional court to evaluate the bill — leaving open the possibility it would be amended.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in response to Duda’s announcement that “Israel continues to work with the authorities in Poland and expresses to them Israel’s reservations about the Polish bill.

“Israel noted the fact that the Polish president referred the law to the Constitutional Court for clarifications on the matter, and hopes that in the period before the verdict is given, it will be possible to agree on changes and amendments to the law,” it said in a statement. “Israel and Poland have a common responsibility to investigate and preserve the history of the Holocaust.”