Lies That Kill the Polish Alliance |
Yad Vashem’s institutional narrative is systematically distorting Poland’s historical image, triggering a strategic crisis in Polish-Israeli relations. According to the 2024 HU-EF Barometer, this shift has led to a shocking reality: 54% of Jewish Israelis now believe Poles were “exactly as responsible” for the Holocaust as Nazi Germany. By prioritizing political pressure over historical context, the Institute is not only eroding the truth of the German occupation but also actively dismantling one of Israel’s most vital alliances in Europe.
The relationship between Poland and Israel has been hostage to historical politics for years. However, we have reached a point where it is no longer merely about diplomatic friction, but about a systematic distortion of reality with real geopolitical consequences. The central question remains unavoidable: does the activity of the Yad Vashem Institute represent the State of Israel—and do Israeli decision-makers realize that by attacking Poland, the Institute is actively dismantling one of Israel’s few remaining sincere allies in Europe?
For a long time, a dangerous trend has been evident. Yad Vashem is increasingly departing from its role as a guardian of historical truth and assuming the function of a political pressure instrument. By promoting a narrative that foregrounds alleged Polish “complicity” while marginalizing the fundamental context of German occupation and terror, the Institute practices a form of internationalized pedagogy of shame. This approach does not illuminate history—it simplifies, distorts, and weaponizes it.
There were cases of collaboration, denunciation, and antisemitism against Jews in occupied Poland. These facts are painful and demand honest scholarly examination. Yet they cannot logically or morally define a nation that did not exist as a sovereign state and was itself subjected to mass terror, ethnic cleansing, and systematic extermination by the German occupying power. To suggest otherwise is to erase the distinction between perpetrator and victim.
When an Institute Undermines Its Own State
The problem is no longer abstract. It has manifested repeatedly in concrete political actions by Yad Vashem that directly undermine Israel’s........