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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Poland risks rift with Israel and US over Holocaust speech law | Poland risks rift with Israel and US over Holocaust speech law |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Senate backs bill proposing jail terms for those who attribute crimes of Nazi Germany to Poles | Senate backs bill proposing jail terms for those who attribute crimes of Nazi Germany to Poles |
| Associated Press | Associated Press |
| Thu 1 Feb 2018 08.56 GMT | Thu 1 Feb 2018 08.56 GMT |
| Last modified on Thu 1 Feb 2018 13.20 GMT | |
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| Poland’s senate has backed legislation regulating Holocaust speech, a move that has the potential to strain relations with Israel and the US. | Poland’s senate has backed legislation regulating Holocaust speech, a move that has the potential to strain relations with Israel and the US. |
| The bill, proposed by the ruling Law and Justice party and voted for early on Thursday, calls for up to three years in prison for any intentional attempt to attribute the crimes of Nazi Germany to the Polish state or people. | The bill, proposed by the ruling Law and Justice party and voted for early on Thursday, calls for up to three years in prison for any intentional attempt to attribute the crimes of Nazi Germany to the Polish state or people. |
| The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement the country “opposes categorically” the vote and views “with utmost gravity any attempt to challenge historical truth.” | The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement the country “opposes categorically” the vote and views “with utmost gravity any attempt to challenge historical truth.” |
| The proposal, which exempts artistic work and research, has raised concerns that the Polish state will decide what it considers to be facts. | The proposal, which exempts artistic work and research, has raised concerns that the Polish state will decide what it considers to be facts. |
| The US has asked Poland to rethink the bill, saying it could “undermine free speech and academic discourse”. | The US has asked Poland to rethink the bill, saying it could “undermine free speech and academic discourse”. |
| The state department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, voiced concern ahead of the vote about the “repercussions this draft legislation, if enacted, could have on Poland’s strategic interests and relationships, including with the United States and Israel”. | The state department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, voiced concern ahead of the vote about the “repercussions this draft legislation, if enacted, could have on Poland’s strategic interests and relationships, including with the United States and Israel”. |
| Senators voted 57 to 23 in favour of the bill, with two abstentions. To become law, the proposal requires the approval of the president, Andrzej Duda, who supports it. | Senators voted 57 to 23 in favour of the bill, with two abstentions. To become law, the proposal requires the approval of the president, Andrzej Duda, who supports it. |
| Many in Israel have argued that the bill is an attempt to whitewash the role some Poles played in the killing of Jews during the second world war. | Many in Israel have argued that the bill is an attempt to whitewash the role some Poles played in the killing of Jews during the second world war. |
| Halina Birenbaum, a Holocaust survivor and acclaimed Israeli author, called the legislation “madness”, telling Israel’s Army Radio it was “ludicrous and disproportionate to what actually happened to Jews there”. | Halina Birenbaum, a Holocaust survivor and acclaimed Israeli author, called the legislation “madness”, telling Israel’s Army Radio it was “ludicrous and disproportionate to what actually happened to Jews there”. |
| Birenbaum, a member of the International Auschwitz Council, said she was concerned the Polish government “might arrest me there for what I’m saying now”. | |
| The Israeli transport minister, Yisrael Katz, said it constituted “a denial of Poland’s part in the Holocaust of the Jews” and called on Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to immediately recall the ambassador to Poland for consultation. | The Israeli transport minister, Yisrael Katz, said it constituted “a denial of Poland’s part in the Holocaust of the Jews” and called on Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to immediately recall the ambassador to Poland for consultation. |
| “In the balance between diplomatic considerations and moral considerations, there must be a clear decision: perpetuating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust above any other consideration,” Katz said. | “In the balance between diplomatic considerations and moral considerations, there must be a clear decision: perpetuating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust above any other consideration,” Katz said. |
| This article was amended on 1 February 2018 to state that Halina Birenbaum is a member of the International Auschwitz Council, not the International Auschwitz Committee | |
| Poland | Poland |
| Holocaust | Holocaust |
| Europe | Europe |
| Nazism | Nazism |
| news | news |
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