MFA: Anti-defamation bill aims to combat falsehoods about Holocaust

Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that the main objective of the new anti-defamation bill is to combat all attempts at denial and falsification of the truth about the Holocaust. The Foreign Ministry's statement comes after the Polish Sejm (lower house) and Senate (upper house) approved a new anti-defamation bill which introduces fines and jail terms for those who falsely accuse Poland of crimes, for example by calling the World War II Nazi German death camps "Polish." The bill was criticised by Israel and Ukraine, on the grounds that it may silence Holocaust survivors who have something negative to say about the conduct of Polish individuals during WWII. A group of Israeli lawmakers is reportedly preparing its own bill which could declare the Polish legislation - if it were enacted - an instance of Holocaust denial.