Holocaust memorial slams Israel-Poland speech law compromise

JERUSALEM – Israel’s official Holocaust memorial is slamming the joint Israeli-Polish compromise over Poland’s disputed Holocaust speech law, saying it contains “grave errors and deceptions.”

Yad Vashem says Thursday its historians have thoroughly reviewed the declaration that ended an Israeli-Polish spat on the matter and found that the “essence of the statute remains unchanged” and includes “the possibility of real harm to researchers … and the historical memory of the Holocaust.”

In consultation with Israel, Poland last week scrapped the threat of prison for attributing Nazi crimes to the Polish nation but kept the possibility of fines in place.

The dispute sparked a wave of anti-Semitic comments in Poland — even by state-run media commentators.

In a rare rebuke of the Israeli government, Yad Vashem says the statement contained “highly problematic wording.”