Reuven Rivlin addresses Conference of Presidents' Israel leadership mission
Reuven Rivlin addresses Conference of Presidents' Israel leadership missionMark Neiman/GPO

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin castigated Poland’s Prime Minister over his recent claim of “Jewish perpetrators” during the Holocaust, calling the remark “a new low”, as the diplomatic stand-off between the Jewish state and Poland deepens following the passage of a Holocaust censorship law.

The controversial law would not only ban the phrase “Polish death camps”, but also prohibit claims that Poland collaborated with the German regime during the Holocaust.

“Saying that our people collaborated with the Nazis, is a new low,” said Rivlin during his address at the Conference of Presidents’ annual Israel Leadership mission Sunday evening.

“Today, more than ever, we must work to educate the world, even some of its leaders about that dark time, the terrible crimes committed by the Nazis, and their supporters.”

“Whether on the left or on the right, anti-Semitism is always wrong. We all must call out anti-Semitism wherever it is found and when it is hidden as anti-Zionism. We stand together hand in hand in this fight. We have to stand strong for the memory of our brothers and sisters murdered in the Shoah. But today, more than ever, we must work to educate the world, even some of its leaders about that dark time, the terrible crimes committed by the Nazis, and their supporters.”

The president also warned the Iranian regime following escalations on Israel’s borders with the Gaza Strip and Syria over the past week, saying that Israel would confront Iran’s proxies and prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“Israel will not allow Iran or their proxy armies, to disturb the lives of our people. We will defend our borders and continue to call on the whole free world to stop Iran from sponsoring terrorism, and to stop Iran from its race to a nuclear bomb.”

Last Saturday, an Iranian unmanned aircraft penetrated Israeli airspace from Syria. After Israeli aircraft shot down the Iranian drone, the Israel Air Force launched a retaliatory strike on the command and control unit near Damascus which had operated the drone, killing six Syrians and Iranians.

During the retaliatory raid, an Israeli F-16I Sufa fighter jet was damaged, forcing the two-man crew to bail out after returning to Israeli airspace.

This Saturday, Hamas terrorists planted a bomb near the Gaza-Israel border. The explosive device injured four IDF soldiers.