As world leaders, Holocaust survivors and others visit Poland on January 27 to mark 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp, one prominent name will be missing from the official ceremony: that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The prime minister did not plan to take part in the ceremony in the first place, according to Israeli media, but that did not prevent some observers from thinking that he would refrain from setting foot on Polish soil for legal reasons, based on reports in Poland.

This resulted in the Polish government announcing that it would allow Netanyahu — and, indeed, any other Israeli official — to visit the country for the anniversary without being arrested, triggering protests against the decision.

In the past several weeks, Poland has been debating whether Netanyahu should be allowed to visit the country given the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes committed in the context of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

International Holocaust Memorial Day does not play a big role in Israeli life. The country has its own remembrance day, set for the Hebrew date of 27 Nissan, which this year........

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