Poland in Israel

Historical view 

For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over 1,000 years. From the founding of the Kingdom of Poland in 1025 through to the early years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created in 1569, Poland was the most tolerant country in Europe. It became a shelter for persecuted and expelled European Jewish communities and the home to over three-quarters of the world’s Jews.

After the Partitions of Poland in 1795 and the destruction of Poland as a sovereign state, Polish Jews were subject to the laws of the partitioning powers: the increasingly anti-Semitic Russian Empire, as well as Austrian and German Empires. Still, as Poland regained independence in the aftermath of World War I, it was the center of the largest Jewish community in Europe of over 3 million.

World War II brought a nearly complete destruction of the Polish Jewish community as a result of systematic genocidal policy of Nazi Germany.
After Israel’s declaration of independence in May 1948, Poland was one of the first to recognize the new state and to establish diplomatic relations with it. At the end of September 1948 first Israeli diplomatic mission arrived to Poland. Following the Soviet Union engagement in the Israeli-Arab conflict and its support for Arab states during the Six-Day War, Poland was forced in 1967 to break the diplomatic relations with Israel.   

Political cooperation after 1989

Poland-Israel diplomatic relations were restored on 27 February 1990, leading to expanded political, military, economic and cultural cooperation. There are almost 20 Polish-Israeli partnerships between local governments. In last years tourist traffic between two countries is booming, as in 2018 almost 250,000 Israelis visited Poland and 150,000 Poles visited Israel. 

Poland’s trade with Israel is growing. In 2018, the value of Polish exports to Israel exceeded EUR 585 million, while Poland’s import from Israel valued more than EUR 400 million.  Almost one third of Polish exports consisted of agricultural products, mainly beef (EUR 80 million), sugar (EUR 30 million), mineral water (EUR 20 million) and others, while Poland imported from Israel mainly electromachinery (40%).  Israeli direct investments in Poland are estimated for EUR 3-5 billion.

Cultural cooperation in based on the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the State of Israel on cultural, scientific and educational cooperation signed in Jerusalem in 1991. In 2000 Polish Institute in Tel Aviv, which is the lead institution focusing on public and cultural diplomacy, was inaugurated.  

Links:

The Polish Institute in Tel Aviv

Scientific cooperation based on the agreement on industrial research and development from 2014, that entered into force in 2016. This agreement concerns the exchange of experience in developing high technologies,  and gives opportunity to finance joint research and development projects, as well as support ecosystems of stratups. Polish and Israeli research institutions may apply together for grants from the National Center for Research and Development (NCBiR) and the Israeli Research and Development Center for Industry (ISERD).  

The evaluation of Polish diplomas on the Israeli market is carried out by the Department for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Degrees (Israeli ENIC) in the Ministry of Education.   

Links:

Department for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Degrees (Israeli ENIC) in the Ministry of Education
Department for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Degrees (Israeli ENIC) in the Ministry of Education  (in Hebrew)
The Council for Higher Education