— Ambassador Romuald Spasowski, Poland’s envoy to the United States, said here that he “unequivocally condemned” all-anti-Semitic manifestations in Poland and specifically the outdoor rally last Sunday in Warsaw at which speakers denounced Jews as a “Zionist clique” and charged that “Zionists” were attempting to seize power in Poland through the independent movement, Solidarity, which is seeking internal reforms.
Spasowski made his condemnation to a delegation from the World Jewish Congress in a 90-minute meeting last Friday at the Polish Embassy here. The WJCongress had requested the meeting following the rally and an article in the Polish armed forces daily publication, “Soldiers of Liberty,” that appeared to condone the anti-Semitic sentiments expressed at the rally.
Earlier last week, the WJCongress along with other American Jewish organizations, including the American Jewish Committee and the B’nai B’rith International, denounced the anti-Semitic manifestations in Poland and called upon the government to condemn them.
Spasowski said that he personally and his government “unequivocally condemn all anti-Semitic manifestations in any form “within Poland, and the Polish government, “will not tolerate any anti-Semitic expression.”
COMMUNIST LEADER DISAVOWS ANTI-SEMITISM
Spasowski gave the WJCongress delegation a copy of a speech which the First Secretary of the Polish Communist Party, Stanishlaw Kania, delivered to the Polish Congress Commission following last Sunday’s rally in Warsaw. An Embassy aide told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the text reached the Embassy only a half-hour before the delegation arrived.
“It has to be forcefully stressed,” the Kania text said, “that we have no intention to and do not admit for a single moment the possibility of resorting for any purpose whatsoever to sources of anti-Semitism.” Kania added that such sources are “alien to us and … are incompatible with the Polish tradition and the tragic experience of our nation. Our party will never feed on such sources and I am sure that this is and will be beyond any doubt.”
CONCERNED ABOUT ARMED FORCES PUBLICATION
The WJCongress delegation said it expressed anxiety to Spasowski about the official Polish armed forces organ, “Soldiers of Solidarity,” which, the delegation said, on March 10 “condoned the actions of the rightist elements in Poland who are trying to discredit Solidarity and accusing its leaders of ‘Zionism’. “The organ was also reported as saying that “the manipulators of the youth in 1968 want to realize the goals of Israel, not Poland.” This was a reference to a charge that Jews in the Politburo during the Stalinist era were responsible for the “blood bath” of Polish patriots.
The delegation also said that despite the disavowal by Poland’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Gen. Mieczyslaw Moczar, of his involvement in anti-Semitic manifestations during the 1968 official anti-Semitic period in Poland when he was Interior Minister, his rise to present prominence might encourage anti-Semitic elements. Moczar is presently a member of the Politburo and is expected to be the next President of Poland.
The WJCongress delegation comprised Dr. Gerhart Riegner, WJCongress secretary general; Kalman Sultanik, WJCongress vice president and president of the Federation of Polish Jews; Jack Spitzer, B’nai B’rith International president and member of the WJCongress Executive; Rabbi Arthur Schneier, WJCongress-American Section chairman; Israel Singer, WJCongress-North American Branch executive director; and Elan Steinberg, WJCongress United Nations representative.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
