Poland demands punishment for assault of Israeli on Polish ambassador in Tel Aviv

Israel’s ambassador to Poland has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw. Israel pledges to update Polish officials on progress in the case. 

By World Israel News Staff

Amid an already tense atmosphere in Israeli-Polish relations over the Polish role in the extermination of Jews during the Holocaust, Warsaw’s ambassador to Israel was assaulted Tuesday while sitting in his car on a Tel Aviv street. A 65-year-old man spat at Ambassador Marek Magierowski, say Israeli police.

Poland’s prime minister has condemned the assault as a “xenophobic” incident. Israel’s Ambassador to Poland Anna Azari was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw on Wednesday.

In a court hearing, the suspect reportedly said that he did not know the identity of Ambassador Magierowski.

A lawyer for the man said the suspect had been turned away from the Polish Embassy after trying to inquire about restitution of stolen property from the Holocaust period, according to the Walla! news website.

The lawyer is also cited as saying that an embassy security guard had called the suspect a “Jewboy.”

However, police called it an act of road rage.

“After [the suspect] honked at the driver of the [ambassador’s] vehicle to move out of the way, the suspect approached the vehicle, banged forcefully on the roof, and when the ambassador used his cellphone to document the suspect, he opened a car door and spat in the ambassador’s face,” said a police statement.

The office of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Warsaw expects the perpetrator to be punished.

“Israel expresses its full sympathy with the Polish ambassador and shock at the attack,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon. “This is a top priority for us; we are fully committed to the safety and security of diplomats,” he added, pledging that Israel would update Polish officials on developments in the case.