Ending political spat, Poland announces return of envoy to Israel

Israel and Poland announced on Wednesday that the political spat between the two countries has been resolved and that Poland will return its ambassador to Israel. 

The announcement came during Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s visit to Poland, where he met with his Polish counterpart, Zbigniew Rau. Cohen's trip is the first visit of an Israeli foreign minister to Poland since 2018.

Today, FM @RauZbigniew met in MFA with the foreign minister of Israel 🇮🇱.

🎥 Watch the summary ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/UniAN3IsfB

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) March 22, 2023

While the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced the resolution of the diplomatic dispute, it reportedly did not reveal the details of the agreement between Cohen and Rau, saying information would be released after the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, approves the agreement. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued praise for the strengthened ties, saying, “I congratulate the Polish government on its decision to return its ambassador to Israel. This decision marks a positive step forward in our diplomatic relations, and I am sure that it will lead to even closer cooperation between our two countries.” 

“I look forward to the continuation of the dialogue and the strengthening of our relations,” he said. 

The Israeli-Polish agreement reportedly also finalized the terms for resuming Israeli youth trips to Poland. While Israel already announced the resumption of the trips, Poland had yet to confirm it.

“We are opening a new page in relations with Poland,” Cohen said. “The return of the Polish ambassador to Israel, together with the return of the youth delegations to Poland, are important steps to strengthen relations between the countries.” 

The Polish Foreign Ministry admitted that the youth trips had been the subject of intense disagreements between the two countries, who engaged in discussions following Poland's attempt to regulate teachings about Poland’s role in the Holocaust, distancing itself from complicity in the actions of the Nazi regime.

During today's meeting, FM @RauZbigniew and FM of Israel 🇮🇱 @elicoh1 signed an agreement regulating the issue of Israeli youth delegations to Poland.

After being suspended in 2022, the issue has been the subject of intense 🇵🇱🇮🇱 discussions in the recent months. pic.twitter.com/VpG6zYPcdz

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) March 22, 2023

The Polish Foreign Ministry also said Israeli President Isaac Herzog will attend observances of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising next month.