Poland popular among Israeli companies: report

Elroy Knebel, CEO of the Poland-Israel Chamber of Commerce, was quoted by Puls Biznesu as saying that Poland is a great place for Israeli firms.

Knebel also owns legal firm Knebel & Co, which recently helped ten Israeli companies set up in Poland and apply for research and development grants, the daily reported.

Tourism could boost Polish-Israeli trade ties, the Puls Biznesu business daily said.

According to the daily, Knebel said that Warsaw attracted more Israeli tourists than Paris last year, which would make it easier for the businesspeople among them to return to Poland for business reasons.

The report in Puls Biznesu came amid strained ties between Poland and Israel.

Poland's president recently said he would sign into law new rules which could mean a jail term for anyone who accuses Poland of being complicit in Nazi German crimes during World War II.

In Poland, the planned new law is seen as a way of fighting the use of the phrase “Polish death camps”, which implies Poland's involvement in the Holocaust.

Poland has long fought the use of such phrases, which have appeared in foreign media in relation to Nazi German-run extermination camps located in occupied Polish territory during World War II.

But commentators have said that Israel is concerned that the new law could mean penalties for anyone who criticises individual Poles' role in the Holocaust.

The Polish government has stressed that the law will not affect academic research or artistic expression.

Public broadcaster Polish Radio has launched a new website, GermanDeathCamps.info, aimed at debunking misconceptions. (vb/pk)