Israel: We Hope Poland Will Amend Holocaust Bill

Israel said on Tuesday that it hoped Poland would still amend a bill that would impose jail terms for suggesting the country was complicit in the Nazi Holocaust.

Poland’s president said he would sign it into law, defying criticism from Israel, the United States and activists. But in an unusual move, President Andrzej Duda also said he will ask the country’s Constitutional Tribunal to evaluate the bill — theoretically opening the way for parliament to amend it.

The law will impose prison terms of up to three years for statements attributing the crimes of Nazi Germany during World War II to the Polish nation.

It is not clear whether the Constitutional Tribunal will ask for any changes, as it is controlled by Poland’s conservative ruling Law and Justice party.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Twitter that Israel hoped that before it was finalized “we will manage to agree on changes and corrections” to the law.

The Foreign Ministry added that Israel and Poland hold a joint responsibility to research and preserve the history of the Holocaust.