Israeli President Reuven Rivlin continued his first official visit abroad on Wednesday, meeting with Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz in Warsaw.
In his remarks, Rivlin stressed the importance of the Poland-Israel relationship.
“It is a great honor for me to visit Poland, and I am most fortunate that the first event that I have participated in as President, outside of Israel, was of such importance to the Jewish and Polish peoples in particular," Rivlin began. "I have followed closely the developments in Poland over that last two decades, also in the framework of the European Union, and I know that when we speak, we understand one another."
“Poland’s influence in Europe is very important to us," he continued. "It is a democratic country, returning to its democratic roots, and which understands that you cannot maintain a state when it faces an existential threat.”
Rivlin emphasized that Poland, to Israel, is a "moderating factor in Europe" who is crucial to deflecting misconceptions about the State of Israel's right to exist.
“As friends, we sometimes agree to disagree, but we see you as a moderating factor in Europe, in the attempts to bring us to take action. Coexistence in the Middle East is a fact, and there is no other place for the Jewish people, anywhere in the world," Rivlin stated.
“In the last century, a terrible tragedy has occurred which had a dramatic effect on our people, but as I said to the Prime Minister, as a leader of the Polish democracy, the defenders of democracy understand very well, that the State of Israel is not a result of the Holocaust," he continued.
"The State of Israel is not at war with the Muslim people, nor with the Arab people, and of course not with the Palestinian people, but that terrorist organizations cannot dictate to the region the conditions under which we live.”
Prime Minister Kopacz thanked the President for his words, and said that the friendship between Israel and Poland will continue to grow and deepen, on the basis of shared interests, especially in the fields of economy and security.
She asked President Rivlin to relay a message to Israel’s youth to come and visit Poland, to deepen the understanding of the two people’s shared history.
Rivlin's comments surface after the EU slammed Israel again earlier this week, this time over the decision to build Jewish homes in Jerusalem.
The bloc has threatened Israel multiple times to further its agenda in the Middle East, dangling unprecedented aid packages to both Jerusalem and Ramallah if a two-state solution is implemented. Despite this, it has denied threatening Israel - or promoting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement - on multiple occasions.
The EU took the opportunity to once again threaten Israel last week, saying that the "future of EU-Israel relations" depends on Israel's "commitment to peace" after Jews moved into apartments legally bought in the neighborhood of Shiloah (Silwan).