Poland’s new envoy to Israel said he is trying to put relations with Israel “back on track,” as Warsaw is set to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union next month.
The appointment of former Polish intelligence chief Maciej Hunia, 63, as ambassador follows a three-year rupture in relations between the two countries over Holocaust-related issues that was defused last year.
He said it was “quite important” both for historical and security reasons that Polish-Israeli relations should be strong, turning a page in bilateral ties frayed in recent years by arguments about the past that subsequently became overshadowed by the Russian-Ukrainian war on Poland’s doorstep, and then by the war in the Middle East.
“On the majority of things, we are on the same page,” the ambassador said, deploring the terrorism of Hamas and Hezbollah as well as the attacks on Israel by Iran and its other proxies.
At the same time, he stopped short of offering unequivocal support for Israel amid its 13-month-old war, citing concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, in line with the position of the European Union.
“We are sympathetic to Israel and we are sympathetic to innocent peoples too,” Hunia said when asked how Poland will align itself in international bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations as the E.U. president. “We hope this line will cross so we can fully support Israel.”
He conceded that it was “absolutely natural” that war-weary Israelis are not in the mood to think about political plans regarding the Palestinians, but added that it was the role of politicians to think ahead.
Focus on Russia
The new envoy, who took up his position last month but has been to Israel many times in his previous security roles, said that it is the war in Ukraine that is currently front and center for Poland, which has taken in more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees over the last two and half years.
“We have a war just beyond our borders,” said Hunia. “This conflict is crucial for the future of Europe and democracy.”
“I hear very often that Israel is defending democracy,” he added. “Also our Ukrainian partners are defending democracy as well, and paying a very high price for it.”
Iran’s involvement in the Russian-Ukraine war has been a major cause for concern for many European countries, some of whom have now taken a harder line against the Islamic Republic.
“We see the very close relations between Russia and Iran,” said Hunia, adding that of the two it was Moscow that posed a greater danger, due to its nuclear arsenal.
‘Low level’ antisemitism in Poland
Acknowledging Poland’s history, specifically the dark days of the Holocaust, the ambassador noted that the central European country is today among the safest for Jews to visit on the continent, at a time when Western European countries are seeing often violent protests and rioting against Jews.
“We were cautious about the new wave of [Muslim] immigration,” Hunia said.
“There is antisemitism in Poland,” he conceded, “but the level of antisemitism is rather low.”
“Still, any … anti-Semitic incidents are shameful,” he quickly added. Just days earlier, the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial was vandalized.
The next generation
Looking to the future, the ambassador said that newly restored youth trips, which had been frozen during the war and amid the downturn in bilateral relations, as well as youth exchanges between the two countries offered the best hope at breaking stereotypes and forming lasting friendships.
“If we want to improve relations we need to allow young people to talk to each other and understand that they are on the same page, read the same books, listen to the same music and watch the same sports,” he said. “What was yesterday [for young people] is ancient history. This is the future.”
