For the first time in over three years, Poland finally has an ambassador in Israel. Maciej Hunia, Poland's new ambassador, arrived in Israel on the eve of Yom Kippur to begin his role.
The 63-year-old Hunia has visited Israel several times in the past and held various senior positions, including head of Poland's intelligence service and military intelligence agency.
Poland's new Ambassador to Israel Maciej Hunia
(Video: Poland's Embassy in Israel)
His appointment was announced a month and a half ago, and during his confirmation hearing in the Polish parliament, he was asked if he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Hunia replied that military actions causing unintended civilian casualties cannot be characterized as genocide, explaining: "We saw this in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Poland’s embassy in Israel confirmed the ambassador’s arrival in a post on its X account on Sunday. Israel's ambassador to Poland, Dr. Yacov Livne, welcomed Hunia, saying: "Wishing you much success, dear colleague. I look forward to working with you. Welcome!"
However, Hunia cannot yet present his credentials to Israel's President Isaac Herzog, since Polish President Andrzej Duda has not signed off on the letter of credence due to an internal political dispute with the government. Poland currently has over 50 ambassadors without official letters of credence for the same reason. Despite this, Hunia can still fully function as an ambassador to Israel.
Poland’s previous ambassador to Israel, Marek Magierowski, was recalled over a diplomatic crisis between the two countries over Poland's controversial property restitution law. Israel returned its ambassador to Poland two years ago, but Poland delayed sending its own, despite repeated promises.
The diplomatic rift began in 2021 when Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński announced a review of the Israeli youth trips to Poland, which had been paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed the trips were spreading "hatred of Poland."
Jabłoński later helped negotiate the renewal of the youth delegations, and in June of last year he stated that relations between the two countries had improved. "We will discuss the hundreds or thousands who collaborated with the Nazis, but not at the expense of the victims. The agreement on youth delegations aims to encourage Israelis to also learn about modern Polish-Israeli relations. We want them to understand what happened without identifying Poland solely with the death camps," he said during a visit to Israel.
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