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Yad Vashem denounces Poland’s demanded additions to Israeli student trips as ‘inappropriate’
(JTA) — When Israel and Poland agreed to resume Israeli youth trips to Polish Holocaust sites last month, their agreement stipulated that new sites be added to the students’ itineraries, including some that document Nazi crimes against non-Jewish Poles. Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and history authority, is now calling those additions “inappropriate” and “problematic.”
In statements to Haaretz published on Monday, leading historians condemned the development, arguing that the new trip rules advance what they call Poland’s track record of obscuring its Holocaust record.
The new list of required sites for students to see are “dubious at best and controversial at worst,” said Havi Dreifuss, a Tel Aviv University history professor affiliated with Yad Vashem. She added that some of the sites “ignore documented aspects of Poles’ involvement in the murder of Jews,” or even “glorify Poles who were involved up to their necks in the murder of Jews.”
“What you have there is the ‘Polish wish-list’ of where Israeli youth should go,” said Jan Grabowski, a professor who studies Polish-Jewish Holocaust history and has been prosecuted in Poland over some of his research conclusions. “It reads like a Holocaust denier’s dream.”
Youth trips to Holocaust sites in Poland have long been part of a longstanding educational program in Israel. They were suspended last year amid a series of diplomatic spats between Poland and Israel fueled mostly by a push by Poland’s right-wing government to highlight German crimes against Poles during World War II. Historians around the world have argued that the campaign — which included multiple laws that drew harsh responses from Jerusalem — has also sought to downplay Polish crimes against local Jews before, during and after the Holocaust.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was critical of those recent Polish laws, but since assembling the most right-wing government in Israel’s history earlier this year, lawmakers have pushed for renewing ties. After meeting with his Polish counterpart last month, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen declared that the countries’ “crisis” in relations was over. Cohen and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau signed an agreement stating that Israeli youth trips to Holocaust sites in Poland would resume, pending approval in the Knesset, or Israel’s parliament. Poland also agreed to reinstate its ambassador to Israel.
Soon after the signing, Poland’s deputy foreign minister noted in a statement that Israeli students would learn on the trips “what [Poland] as a country and as a nation have been through and what we have survived.” The Israeli students will also meet with Polish youths, Paweł Jabłoński added, “to combat negative stereotypes that exist in Israel regarding Poland.”
Now details are being released to the public, Haaretz reported. In addition to touring Jewish-specific sites, students will also be required to visit at least one site per trip related to “other crimes of World War II,” which include museums focused on Nazi crimes against non-Jewish Poles.
Included in the list of additional sites is the Markowa Ulma-Family Museum of Poles Who Saved Jews in World War II —which tells the story of a Polish family who were killed for hiding eight Jews in their house. Other museums that highlight the “forsaken” or “doomed” Polish soldiers who rebelled against Communist forces in the aftermath of the war. Grabowski said that many of those soldiers were “ruthless murderers of Jews during and after the war.”
Israel’s education ministry and Yad Vashem both said that they have not agreed to modify the trips.
“Every tour that took place in the past can take place exactly as it was and with no changes in the future. The Poles have asked to add sites to the list, yet there is no such commitment to tour one site or another,” the ministry wrote in a statement to Haaretz.
Yad Vashem wrote that students sent through its programs “will not visit any site that is suspected of twisting the history of the Holocaust or promoting a historically incorrect narrative.”
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The post Yad Vashem denounces Poland’s demanded additions to Israeli student trips as ‘inappropriate’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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US Strikes More Than 90 Iranian Military Targets on Kharg Island, CENTCOM Says
A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, February 25, 2026. Photo: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS
United States forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, the US Central Command said on Saturday.
“US forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure,” CENTCOM said.
The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites, the US military said in a post on X.
President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran’s Kharg Island hub, unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
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North Korea Fires Ten Ballistic Missiles Toward the Sea of Japan
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and wife Ri Sol Ju inspect an honour guard before leaving Pyongyang for a visit to China, this January 7, 2019 photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang January 8, 2019. Photo: KCNA via REUTERS.
i24 News – North Korea fired roughly ten ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the South Korean military reported, marking a new act of defiance amid Seoul and Washington’s annual joint military exercises.
The launches, originating from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, were detected around 1:20 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The missiles were directed toward the East Sea—the Korean name for the Sea of Japan—though details on their range or trajectory were not immediately available. Earlier, the South Korean Ministry of Defense had already confirmed the launch of at least one unidentified projectile in the same area.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also verified the incident, noting that a suspected ballistic missile had been launched from North Korea.
The launches come amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Since Monday, the United States and South Korea have been conducting their annual joint exercises, which will continue through March 19 and involve approximately 18,000 South Korean troops alongside an unspecified number of U.S. forces.
Pyongyang has sharply criticized the drills, calling them a rehearsal for invasion. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned this week that the exercises could trigger “terrible and unimaginable consequences.”
The missile tests also coincide with fading prospects for inter-Korean dialogue. Kim Jong-un recently dismissed outreach efforts from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, labeling Seoul “the most hostile enemy.”
The show of force occurred just hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, during a visit to the United States, mentioned a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un—a meeting Washington still considers possible.
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Dutch Authorities Investigate Explosion at Jewish School Claimed by Extremist Group
Police outside a Jewish school following an explosion that caused minor damages, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 14, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – An explosion struck a Jewish school on Zeelandstraat in Amsterdam-Buitenveldert during the night between Friday and Saturday, Dutch authorities confirmed. Emergency responders, including police and firefighters, acted swiftly, and officials reported that the building suffered only limited damage. No injuries have been reported.
Mayor Femke Halsema described the incident as a deliberate attack against the Jewish community in the city, emphasizing that the authorities are treating the case “very seriously.” Security camera footage showing the individual who detonated the device is under investigation.
In an unverified online video, previously little-known group identifying itself as Ashab Al Yamim later claimed responsibility for the blast. The group released online footage appearing to show the small explosion followed by a fire outside the school. Its logo was also seen in videos related to an attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam earlier this week.
Dutch investigators are coordinating with the judiciary to determine the full circumstances of the attack and whether additional suspects were involved. Authorities noted that the organization had not been previously known to security services.
The explosion comes amid rising security concerns for Jewish institutions across Europe, following heightened tensions in the Middle East. The group behind the claim has also alleged responsibility for previous incidents targeting Jewish sites in Europe, including attacks in Liège, Belgium, and Rotterdam, though these claims remain unverified.
Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centers across the continent have stepped up security measures in recent weeks amid fears of potential threats to Jewish communities.