'Kind welcome' for Polish gov’t rep from American Jews despite tensions

Minister Anna Maria Anders, the Polish government’s pointwoman on international dialogue, was speaking after a visit to Washington, where she took part in a three-day conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), one of the most influential Jewish organisations in the United States.

Anders, who is also a senator in Poland, participated in the conference as an observer. She did not hold any official talks but had a number of informal meetings. The talks were “sincere without any sign of aggression,” she told Polish Radio, referring to recent tensions between Poland and Israel as well as concern in the US over a new Polish anti-defamation law.

"They [American Jews] said the current situation worried them … and expressed their desire that the friendship between Poland and Israel, as well as between Poland and the United States, would be as deep as it was before," Anders said.

Anders also said that the "unbelievable" support for Israel from the United States “is not aimed against Poland.”

She said that “the Americans protect Israel in every respect, not just in terms of security. They also protect the memory of the Holocaust.”

Around 18,000 American Jews and hundreds of influential politicians, diplomats and US government officials including Vice President Mike Pence took part in the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington from March 4 to 6.

Despite pressure from Israel and the United States, Polish President Andrzej Duda last month signed the new anti-defamation law, which could impose a jail term on anyone who accuses Poland of being complicit in Nazi German crimes.

In Poland, the new rules are seen as a way of fighting the use of the phrase “Polish death camps,” which many say implies the country's involvement in the Holocaust during World War II.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR