Israeli soldier protesting Polish Holocaust law to face punishment by IDF

An Israeli soldier on an army-sponsored trip to the former Auschwitz death camp is set to receive a punishment from the Israel Defense Force (IDF), after he was spotted brandishing a sign that openly protested the controversial Polish Holocaust bill on Thursday.

The sign read, “You too had a part” and was observed by the local officers on the grounds of Auschwitz, whilst the soldiers gathered for a group photo alongside other members of the army’s Witnesses in Uniform, Army Radio reported.

The museum authorities were informed of the sign but held back from detaining the soldier after the leader of the Israeli delegation assured the Polish officials that the upper echelons of the army would handle the incident accordingly.

The controversial Polish legislation, which came into force earlier in March, imposes fines or up to three years in prison for anyone who ascribes “responsibility or co-responsibility to the Polish nation or state for crimes committed by the German Third Reich.”

The law was purportedly passed in order to prevent a distortion of history that would defame the Polish nation (by use of terms such as "Polish death-camps").

Israel, however sees it as a bid to deny that certain Poles participated in the genocide of Jews during World War II and argue that it could even open the door to prosecuting Holocaust survivors for their testimonies.

Israel’s embassy in Poland revealed that a flood of anti-Semitism has poured in following the aftermath of the controversial bill with many targeting Ambassador Anna Azari directly.

Despite Israel’s vocal opposition to the bill and amid the ongoing diplomatic rift between itself and Poland, it vowed to discipline the soldier.

The bill itself, although passed by the parliament in Warsaw and signed by President Andrzej Duda, is still undergoing a court investigation in order to analyse its ability to comply with the country’s constitution.

Poland was attacked and occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II, losing six million of its citizens including three million Jews.