When Yacov Livne was appointed in September 2020 as Israel’s new ambassador to Poland, he didn’t expect that almost two years would pass before he would present his credentials to the Polish president.
Israel and Poland were just recovering from the first stage of a serious diplomatic row caused by what was falsely called in Israel “the Holocaust Law,” interpreted as a Polish attempt to rewrite history and deny any participation of Poles in the Holocaust. Sending a new ambassador to Warsaw was imperative to mending relations between the countries, which enjoyed excellent ties before the crisis. But internal political fights within the Israeli government of the time blocked nominations of new ambassadors.
Then came the second stage of the crisis, after the formation of the Bennett-Lapid government in summer 2021 and the expulsion of the Polish ambassador from Israel by the Foreign Ministry. The previous good Polish-Israeli relations risked turning into animosity. But the Russian war on Ukraine prevented that scenario.
“I arrived in Warsaw four days after the war in Ukraine started,” recalls Livne. “It was clear at the time that it was important to have an Israeli ambassador in Poland. The Polish side understood it, too.
“I immediately started working as an ambassador in a very difficult period. There were more than 10,000 Israelis and more than 50,000 Jews in Ukraine. Our embassy, together with the Israeli Embassy in Kyiv, which was evacuated to Poland, worked to enable the exit of those Israelis and Jews who wanted to leave Ukraine. We were also in charge of all the aid that the State of Israel sent to Ukraine through Poland, whose size was unprecedented.”
The reality of Polish-Israeli relations
The 58-year-old top Israeli diplomat refutes the idea that the Ukraine war saved Israeli-Polish relations: “There was an understanding between both countries prior to the war that the absence of ambassadors and regular diplomatic dialogue is not a natural situation for two friendly countries and nations that share more than 1,000 years of coexistence. Therefore, both sides wanted to end the crisis. The war in Ukraine accelerated the process of ending the crisis, but was not the reason for it.”
Livne has just ended his term as ambassador to Poland, shortened by political circumstances to three years only, and returned to Jerusalem to the post of senior deputy director-general for public diplomacy.
Born in Moscow to a Zionist family, which immigrated to Israel in 1974, he grew up in Haifa, served as a soldier in the Golani Brigade, studied physics at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, but chose a diplomatic career. He served as spokesman of the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, was the first Israeli diplomat to work in Berlin, headed the US department at the ministry’s center for political research, later the Euro-Asian department, and was in charge of the Israeli Embassy in Russia. A man for delicate and complicated missions.
Despite the high sensitivity of the Poles to anything that is connected to Russia, especially after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Livne doesn’t feel that the fact that he was born in Moscow caused him any complications.
“Knowing Russian made it easier for me to learn Polish, and that’s a very important working tool,” he says. “Beyond that, my previous diplomatic experience in that region of Europe – serving in Moscow and in Berlin – assisted me in my work.
“Personally, serving in Poland was a significant experience, especially since many members of my family had lived in different parts of Poland before World War II. Most of them were exterminated during the Holocaust in the mass shooting pits or in Auschwitz. While serving in Poland I discovered new details about my family, and I visited the places where they had lived. It was very moving.”
Livne stresses that the Poles didn’t pressure Israel to be more supportive of Ukraine after the Russian aggression started.
“There were statements from some countries on this issue, sometimes also in Poland,” he stresses. “I always made it clear that Israel’s position on the war is very clear. Israel had supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine, from the crisis over Crimea and Donbass in 2014 and onwards. I believe that all my interlocutors in Poland understood this position.”
The war in Ukraine strengthened the defense and military ties between Israel and many European countries, which turned to Israel to purchase advanced weapon systems and technologies. To what extent has the defense and military cooperation between Poland and Israel grown?
“The defense cooperation with Poland continues now for dozens of years,” says Livne.
“I think that what happened and still happens in Ukraine made it clear to all – in Poland, in Europe, and in other places – to what extent peace in our world is fragile. If, in the past, Israel was accused of ‘causing global destabilization’ or of other false accusations, since ‘there is no place for wars in the 21st century,’ reality came and woke up many. I believe that many in Poland and Europe see things differently today.
“There is greater cooperation between both countries in many fields. Poland is a friendly country, and defense cooperation is definitely an important domain.”
It took Poland a long time before it sent a new ambassador to Israel, causing the impression that improving relations was far more important to Israel than to Poland. Livne doesn’t share this view.
“The Polish ambassador who was sent to Israel is a high official,” he emphasizes. “He headed in the past the Polish secret services. This, among other things, probably shows the importance Poland attributes to the relations with Israel.
“One of the reasons that delayed the nomination, as I was told, was the search for the right person for this important post.
“Political developments in Poland also caused a delay. There was an electoral campaign, followed by some disputes between the new government and the president. All that delayed the nomination of many ambassadors.
“I was very happy that Maciej Hunia was sent to Israel as the new ambassador. He is doing a great job. A few months ago, on one of my visits to Israel, I called him and invited him to visit with me Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was savagely attacked on October 7. Although it was almost New Year’s Eve, he immediately accepted the invitation, and we had a very significant visit there.”
Could one say that the conflict over Polish history during World War II, which started in 2018 and poisoned the relations between both countries, is solved now?
“History is central to the relations between Poles and Jews,” underlines the former ambassador to Warsaw. “It has always been so and will remain so, because of the special relation and the fact that for hundreds of years, more than half of the Jewish people in the world lived within the borders of the Polish state, and because three million Polish Jews were murdered on the soil of occupied Poland during the Holocaust.
“Unfortunately, some people tried, at a certain point, to distort our common history. I must say that they have failed. I think that today this issue was largely taken off the table since we achieved an understanding, according to which we respect our common history.
“That was one of the goals I set for myself when I left for Poland. All my Polish high-level interlocutors agreed with that. We cannot change history; we can only learn from it. During 1,000 years of common Jewish-Polish life, there were bright chapters, but also dark ones. That’s part of our history. I believe that today there is a very clear understanding on both sides that we have to respect that history.”
The Polish side accused Israeli politicians, mainly Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Israel Katz, of contributing to the crisis, which tore apart both countries, by spreading false historical facts. Warsaw also insisted that Poland has become Israel’s historical punching-bag, while Germany has been forgiven.
“The rule according to which history must be respected, remembered, and taught the way it happened is valid for everybody,” explains Livne.
“Sometimes positive things come out of a crisis. This crisis over historical issues, which went on for several years, served for many as an occasion to have another look at historical events, to open history books, and talk again with Holocaust survivors. Their stories and the countless testimonies from the dark time of World War II and the Holocaust are very clear.
“Today we largely returned to normality in how we look at history. I hope that I have contributed to it, even if in a minor way. This is important not only to the relations between Israel and Poland but for the way we see ourselves.“As time passes, Jewish history in Poland becomes more accessible. For example, the POLIN Museum [of the History of Polish Jews] in Warsaw is a very good way to teach about this Jewish history. We should use such opportunities.”
Jewish life in Poland now
The Poles are very proud of the fact that their country is one of the safest in Europe for Jews. How present is antisemitism in Poland today?
Livne admits that he has not experienced antisemitism physically, perhaps since an ambassador lives in a sort of a bubble.
“However, I and others experienced antisemitism very intensively on social media,” he notes. “The loads of hate which were thrown at us there, mainly after the beginning of the Swords of Iron war, was shocking and extremely disturbing.
“Nonetheless, in Poland – unlike some West European countries – there are no vast demonstrations against Israel.
The level of security of the Jewish community seems to be higher than in some countries in the West. It is also because in Poland there are fewer immigrants coming from the Middle East. So the general atmosphere and the tone of public debate are different.”
Five weeks after October 7 a new Polish center-left government was sworn in. Has it strengthened relations with Israel?
“From the moment I came as an ambassador, it was very important for me to work with both sides of the political spectrum,” says Livne.
“In the middle of my term, there was a change of governments, after the elections. The agreement reached between the governments of Israel and Poland on renewing the youth delegations to Poland was reached with the previous government. The new one continued the policy of improving relations with Israel, which had been started by the former government. The new government nominated a Polish ambassador to Israel. If I look back at the three years I served as ambassador to Poland, there is a clear tendency to improve relations and have better understanding between Warsaw and Jerusalem.
“This despite the fact that we faced many new challenges after October 7 connected to antisemitism and anti-Israeli attacks – indeed, very sharp attacks coming from some elements of the Polish extreme Left and extreme Right. We haven’t seen such things in the past. But we managed to overcome these difficulties.”
Yet, no member of the current Polish government visited Israel after October 7, 2023. Livne hopes this will change.
The Confederation political bloc, considered the party of the Polish extreme and far Right, is getting stronger. From a marginal force it became, according to recent polls, the third strongest party, supported by around a fifth of the Polish population. Israel has just normalized its relations with three European leading far-right parties. Should it have a dialogue with the Confederation, too?
“One of the parliament members of this bloc desecrated the hanukkiah in the Polish parliament during Hanukkah and made antisemitism his trademark. Our rule in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that we do not speak with antisemites and Holocaust deniers. This is the right attitude, and I don’t think it will change,” affirms Livne.
Not less challenging than his post in Poland will be Livne’s new job at the ministry in very difficult times for Israel’s public diplomacy.
“Israeli public diplomacy faces challenges we have not seen in the past,” admits Livne. “Since October 7 we have witnessed an extreme explosion of hate directed at Jews and at the State of Israel. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated against us in some big cities of the West, with horrible hate messages. We, as a Jewish state, were absurdly accused of committing holocaust and genocide.
“We have to look at this challenge differently, and we have already started doing so at the ministry under the guidance of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. When joining the government, Sa’ar brought with him to the ministry a very significant budget for public diplomacy and new, better ways to act. We have already seen the fruits of these enhanced efforts.”
Especially, Israel’s negative image among the younger generations is considered a high-priority challenge.“It’s very complicated since a large part of the younger generations get their information from sources that are easily manipulated and distorted,” affirms Livne.
“Even without AI, it has become so easy to create an alternative reality, tell fictive stories and distort history. Absurdly, some even try to erase 3,000 years of Jewish history in the Land of Israel. It’s too easy today to spread these things around through social networks.
“Dealing with it is one of our main targets. My areas of responsibility include interfaith relations and the fight against antisemitism and Holocaust denial. I believe that it is through dialogue that we can create a more tolerant and better world.
“Another area in which we work is cultural and scientific relations. These are essential tools for cooperation that we need to expand.
“People of culture and science should help to bring countries closer together, especially in these turbulent times. I believe that together we can succeed in this.”