Noa Kirel, who represented Israel and achieved third place in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest has faced backlash from Poland after commenting on the high score of 12 points that she received from them during the contest’s finale last Saturday night.
In an interview with Israeli news site Ynet, Kirel spoke about her experiences throughout Eurovision, and what it had been like to achieve so much success throughout the competition.
Touching on the 12-point score (the highest possible option) given to her by Poland’s jurors, the young pop sensation said that her “real victory was putting Israel on the map, leaving a mark and making my country proud of me.”
She continued, calling it one of her greatest achievements before adding: “Also, to receive 12 points from Poland after almost the entire Kirel family was murdered there in the Holocaust is a great achievement.”
However, Kirel’s comments were met with criticism from Poland, with Polish parliament member Anna Maria Żukowska directing her complaints at the Israeli Embassy in Poland via Twitter.
Droga @IsraelinPoland!Czy ta wypowiedź odzwierciedla poziom edukacji na temat Holokaustu w Izraelu? Czy młodym ludziom w Izraelu wydaje się, że Holokaust spowodowała Polska, nad którą młoda obywatelka Izraela może odnieść po latach moralne zwycięstwo, czy co? https://t.co/nlEToZpMdI
— Anna-Maria Żukowska ♀️ #Lewica ️ (@AM_Zukowska) May 19, 2023
Sharing a screenshot of Kirel’s statement, she asked: “Does this statement reflect the level of Holocaust education in Israel? Do young people in Israel think that the Holocaust was caused by Poland, over which a young Israeli citizen can achieve a moral victory after many decades, or what?”
In an interview with Ynet, Kirel referred to the Holocaust, where almost her entire family was murdered, and the artist’s words were interpreted as accusing Poland of murdering Jews.
“For me, receiving the highest rating from Poland after what my family went through there during the Holocaust was a victory moment,” the singer said. “My real victory was putting Israel on the map, leaving a mark, and making my country proud of me. These are my greatest achievements.”
Polish politician Anna Maria Żukowska contacted the Israeli embassy in Poland on Twitter, asking regarding Kirel’s statements if they “reflect the level of education about the Holocaust in Israel. Do young people in Israel think that the Holocaust was caused by Poland?”
In a follow-up tweet, she added that “perhaps [Kirel] has something to say about the points received from Germany,” in a reference to the fact that neither the German jury nor the public granted Israel any points during the Eurovision 2023 finale.
Is Israel uneducated on Polish history?
Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski also responded to Kirel’s comments, writing in a long-form tweet that “the fact that many people in Israel consider Poland to be a co-perpetrator of German crimes – rather than their victim – is often not the result of bad will so much as it is a result of lack of knowledge and incomplete education.
“There are many reasons for this, but one of them was certainly the organized trips of Israeli youth to Poland, which, unfortunately, confirmed the image of our country for the participants for many years.”
Jablonski continued, turning his attention to the new format he recently introduced for Israel’s trips to Poland which will see students visit one site recommended by the Polish government.
“We are starting a long process that will certainly not produce results immediately – but at the same time I am sure that in the long run, it will allow us to build good Polish-Israeli relations, based on truth and mutual understanding that both our nations were victims of German crimes.
“And Noa Kirel will be invited to Poland – the invitation will be sent in the coming week – primarily to understand why she thinks about our homeland this way, and for us to explain why it is painful for us… and to see with her own eyes the places were Nazi Germany committed cruel crimes against the Poles and the Jews in our country.”
