Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is "seriously considering" cancelling his participation in the Visegrad conference, which is scheduled to be held in Israel next week, in the wake of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s comments on the Polish Holocaust law, Kan 11 News reported on Thursday evening.
The Visegrad group is made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Next week’s meeting would be the first time the group convenes in Israel.
Earlier, Netanyahu publicly flouted the Holocaust law during a state visit to Warsaw.
“Poles collaborated with the Nazis,” said Netanyahu in Warsaw Thursday. “See, I’m saying it. It is a fact. And I don’t know a single person who was ever sued because of it.”
Netanyahu added that the issue of Poland’s Holocaust censorship law was raised during his meeting with Morawiecki.
In response, Morawiecki’s office released a statement calling Netanyahu’s comments “surprising”.
Morawiecki also tweeted Thursday evening, writing that there was "no Polish regime" during the Nazi occupation, emphasizing that both Jews and Poles suffered under German rule.
The Holocaust law, originally approved in January of 2018, made the use of the term "Polish death camp" punishable by up to three years in prison.
The legislation prompted sharp protests from Israel, as well as criticism by the United States, among other countries.
Poland subsequently changed the legislation to remove fines and jail terms of up to three years for anyone found guilty of ascribing Nazi crimes to the Polish nation or state.