On serious states and national interest

In Poland, Israel has a reputation of a state that looks after its citizens and its national interests. Again, that’s how we see Israel in Poland, regardless of stereotypes, both positive and negative, that you and I know well and there’s no point bringing them up over and over again.

We then look at Poland and wonder, with a tinge of envy, why Poland can’t be as effective as Israel in securing its national interests. Israeli intelligence agencies – the Mossad in particular – are famous for their effectiveness. It’s not sugarcoating. Just because a particular Pole has a negative opinion about Israel, doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t see how effective the Jewish State is in securing its national interest. I know there are serious and tragic problems such as the fate of the hostages (I’ve read a comment here on the website accusing the protesting families, and others supporting these families, of being a 5th column. Damn, that’s cold).

Overall, though, Israel does a good job at realpolitik rather than romanticized politics. Russian so-called elites (Yuri Felshtinsky says Russia has no elites, only FSB puppets and projects) sometimes mock Poland by saying Poles have ”phantom pains.” Well, they aren’t wrong. A lot of Poles reminisce about the past, when Poland was on its way to being an empire, even occupying the Kremlin for two years, only to end up partitioned and wiped off the map. But that was then and we’re in a different world now.

So, when someone cries anti-semitism, it’s way more complex than that. Actually, the most hated group in Poland, I’d wager, are the Gypsies. These guys really have it awful. Barely anyone likes them here. With the Jewish people, it’s a dramatically different story. Sure, there’s negativity, but there’s also positivity – the Jews are seen as smart, resolute and good with money (I used to know someone who had a wooden wandering bearded Jew figurine in his house to bring money luck, go figure). So, when mentioning anti-semitism, let’s also acknowledge the other side of the equation. Otherwise, it’s just propaganda and confirmation bias.

So what makes a particular nation, a particular state, a serious state? In my opinion? Passport power is a good indicator, though not always. Polish passport is pretty powerful but, sadly, I wouldn’t consider Poland as that-serious-of-a-state. The kind of nation that, in spite of all its flaws, its citizens are proud of. The ability to ensure that each citizen of that state, particularly abroad, is protected and people around the world know not to mess with its citizens. Israel, I believe, certainly qualifies. That’s the reputation you have here in Poland, anyway. Now, about Auschwitz and Netanyahu.

Colonel Piotr Wroński, a former Polish counterintelligence officer and a well-known commentator who criticizes whoever deserves it, delivers a scathing verdict of the idea to arrest Israeli PM in Poland. Given the particularly precarious Polish geopolitical position and inner divisions, he says, it’s foolhardy and contrary to the Polish national interest to arrest Netanyahu. He says that, in spite of hate he doesn’t care about, he unapologetically supports Israel. He also says that Trump, being a likely pro-Israeli president, can view the arrest of Netanyahu in Poland negatively. He mirrors my thinking about Trump. He also doesn’t care about the ICC, only about the Polish national interest.

Have a listen if you speak Polish and make up your own mind. As you can see, or hear if you speak Polish, there isn’t a one party-narrative in Poland about Israel. We’re a diverse bunch.