Poland FIRES its envoy for Jews after ‘Holocaust law’ interview with Jewish News
Jaroslaw Marek Nowak, appointed just six months ago to improve his country's relations with Jews and Israel, was dismissed after saying a Polish law regulating Holocaust speech was “stupid”.
Michael Daventry is Jewish News’s foreign and broadcast editor
A Polish diplomat appointed to improve relations with the Jewish community has been fired after describing one of his country’s laws on the Holocaust as “stupid”.
Jaroslaw Marek Nowak, who had been appointed by Poland’s foreign minister just six months ago, made the remark during an interview with Jewish News published last week.
He was referring to a controversial 2018 law that allowed government officials to prosecute historians if their research suggested Poles were complicit in the Holocaust.
Widely condemned by Israel and Jewish communities at the time, the law was subsequently watered down but not revoked.
Some historians were subsequently pursued in court, including professors Barbara Engelking and Jan Grabowski, who were ordered to apologise to the relative of a man they said had collaborated with Nazis during the Second World War.
Nowak said in his wide-ranging interview with Jewish News, which was conducted during his visit to London last month, that it had been “one of the stupidest amendments that were ever done by any law.”
The correct way to challenge someone’s research was to publish a rebuttal article that presents counterarguments, he said.
Minister Spraw Zagranicznych @RauZbigniew podjął 8 stycznia 2022 roku decyzję o odwołaniu p. Jarosława Nowaka z zajmowanego stanowiska.
— Łukasz Jasina (@RzecznikMSZ) January 10, 2022
But the interview triggered anger among some nationalist politicians in Poland after it was published last week.
Łukasz Jasina, a spokesman for Poland’s foreign ministry, announced in a tweet on Monday morning: “On January 8, 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau decided to dismiss Mr. Jarosław Nowak from his position.”
Jewish News has contacted the Polish Foreign Ministry for comment.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
