Israeli and Jewish community leaders have expressed deep sorrow over the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, calling him a true friend of the Jewish people and praising his efforts to heal the scars of the Holocaust. Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and all 95 other people on board the presidential plane were killed on Saturday morning on the way to Katyn in Russia when their aircraft crashed. Among the dead were the head of Poland’s military, the deputy foreign minister, and other Polish dignitaries. Kaczynski was leading a delegation headed to Russia to honor the 22,000 Polish officers killed there in 1940. On board his plane were also family members of the victims of the Katyn massacre.
Israeli president Shimon Peres said in a statement: "In the many meetings I had with President Kaczynski, I discovered a great leader, determined to press his country forward, a man very much in touch with his people, and who had adopted the viewpoint of a democratic and advanced world. President Kaczynski and his wife did much to promote closer ties between the Polish and Jewish peoples, making a significant contribution to the healing process of the scars of the past and the building of a common better future. The bilateral ties between our two countries were strengthened during his presidency, distinguished by a spirit of friendship and warmth. The State of Israel bows its head, as it partakes in the deep sorrow of the Polish people on the occasion of their dreadful loss."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Kaczynski "a great friend of the state of Israel." The Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem highlighted the Polish president's commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust. Kaczynski visited Israel's national Holocaust memorial twice, improved military ties between the two countries, and he was regarded as a firm friend of Poland's Jewish community.
Piotr Kadlcik, the president of the Union of Polish Religious Communities, said the Jewish community had lost a friend. The head of the Chabad Lubavitch movement in Poland, Rabbi Sholom Stambler, said Kaczynski had been “a good man and great leader, and well loved by the Jewish people of Poland.”
At the annual March of the Living in Auschwitz on Monday, the program began with a tribute to the Polish leader and those who perished in the plane crash. Poland's Jewish community also held a special prayer service in Warsaw's main synagogue on Sunday. In 2008, Kaczynski became the first Polish head of state to attend a service at a synagogue.
The chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Gabi Ashkenazi, called his late Polish counterpart Franciszek Gagor "an amazing military man." Ashkenazi said he was impressed by Gagor's efforts to teach young officers about the Holocaust, and to introduce Israeli and Polish soldiers to one another.
