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oa The Netherlands and the Jewish Emigration from Poland 1967-1972: an Honorary Cause
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Studia Rosenthaliana, Volume 48, Issue 2, Dec 2022, p. 174 - 195
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- 01 Dec 2022
Abstract
On June 12, 1967, most Warsaw Pact nations severed diplomatic relations with Israel. Following diplomatic custom, the mutual interests of Israel, Poland and the Soviet Union were to be represented by third countries to continue diplomatic contact. Israel requested the Netherlands, their best friend, to look after Israeli interests, both in Poland and in the Soviet Union. Using archives of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the National Archives and interviews with the four Third Secretaries at the embassy between 1966 and 1973, this article describes part of the history of the Dutch diplomatic representation of Israel in Warsaw and in particular the Dutch assistance in the momentous task of the emigration of Polish Jews. It discusses how the authorities navigated a tight rope between representing Israel, serving of Jewish interests in Poland, and promoting wider geopolitical and economic Dutch interests, as well as the friction these matters generated between the Dutch embassy in Warsaw and the Ministry in The Hague.