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Poland, Israel set to agree on youth trips: spokesman

08.03.2023 13:30
Poland and Israel could soon sign an agreement to resume visits by organized groups of Israeli youth to Poland, the Polish foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.
Young Israelis visit the former Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in southern Poland, Aug. 1, 2019.
Young Israelis visit the former Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in southern Poland, Aug. 1, 2019.Photo: Debbie Hill/UPI Photo via Newscom/PAP

"Negotiations on the issue of the return of trips of organised groups of Israeli youth to Poland have been held with the Israeli side since the beginning of last year," the Polish foreign ministry's spokesman, Łukasz Jasina, said in a statement.

He added: "Although a final agreement has not been reached yet, during talks held in recent days through diplomatic channels we have been observing a convergence of positions, giving hope that a comprehensive agreement on the visits of organized groups of Israeli youth to Poland can be signed between Poland and Israel in the near future."

The statement also said that "Poland invariably remains ready to welcome and host Israeli citizens ... travelling individually and in organized groups, based on existing agreements between our countries."

It added: "We are in favour of promoting people-to-people contact between Poles and Israelis, especially regarding the younger generation, as it is crucial to increase the understanding between our peoples."

The statement came after an Israeli official said in January that the disagreement between the two governments over Jewish educational trips had been nearly resolved.

Young Jewish Israelis traditionally take summer trips to Poland, including visits to former Nazi-built death camps to study the Holocaust and pay tribute to those murdered, The Times of Israel reported.

The trip has long been considered a rite of passage in Israeli education and, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, some 40,000 Israeli students participated each year, according to the timesofisrael.com website.

However, in June last year the tours were halted due to a dispute over their content and security issues, according to news reports.

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Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pltimesofisrael.com