WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE POLAND - news journal UPDATE - (en) Poland, FA: Stopping Israel: Polish Society and the War in the Middle East (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 In recent weeks, we have observed growing opposition in European

countries to Israel's aggression against the Gaza Strip. As a result of
military operations and bombings, over 67,000 Palestinians known by name
have already died, the vast majority of whom are women and
children.[1]Although politicians sympathetic to the Israeli government
attempt to dispute this figure, claiming it is Hamas's data, it is
likely a significant underestimate, not an overestimate. While the
bombing continues, it is impossible to precisely determine the number of
those killed, as well as those who died indirectly as a result of the
war: from hunger, lack of medical care, poor sanitary conditions, etc.
All indications are that approximately 10% of Gaza's population,
totaling over 200,000, may have lost their lives due to the current
two-year conflict.

The number of civilians killed is not only shocking, but also the
brutality of the military operations. Recently, a report published in a
Dutch daily ("deVolskrant") has made waves. In Gaza, over 100 cases of
children being murdered with single shots to the head and chest have
been documented, suggesting deliberate actions by Israeli soldiers.[2]

This entire ordeal is causing growing opposition to the war in Gaza. In
Italy, alongside demonstrations of hundreds of thousands, there have
even been general strikes-not one, but two. Trade unions are demanding
that the right-wing government in Rome recognize Palestine and are
protesting against Israel's actions in Gaza.

In light of the Italian protests, the Polish demonstrations appear
modest. The Polish government, with Radoslaw Sikorski as Foreign
Minister, is adopting a clearly pro-Israel stance. It seems it can
ignore the fact that more and more people are taking to the streets of
Warsaw and many Polish cities to demonstrate in support of Palestine. It
may also believe that Polish society supports a pro-Israel foreign
policy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The latest polls by the Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) show that
as many as 75% of Poles believe that Israel's military actions in the
Palestinian territories are not justified; only 8% disagree. Secondly,
although 72% of respondents stated that they do not sympathize with
either side of the conflict, supporters of the Palestinian cause
outnumber Israel four times as many (18% to 4%).

It should be added that, in the case of Israel's June attack on Iran,
the vast majority of Poles (62%) also claimed that Israel had no good
reasons to start the war. The majority of respondents (57%) also
believed that the United States was wrong to enter the conflict.[3]

The results of both CBOS polls indicate that Poles oppose the war in the
Middle East and side with the victims of Israeli aggression.
Nevertheless, this appears to have had little impact on the Polish
government's foreign policy for now.

Ignoring public opinion on war has a long tradition in the Third Polish
Republic. For example, at the outbreak of the Second Gulf War in March
2003, the vast majority of Polish society (approximately 61%) argued
that there should be no armed intervention in Iraq; Poland should not
support it (66%), and Polish troops should not participate in the war
(as many as 75% of respondents). The vast majority of Poles did not
support the participation of Polish soldiers in the war until the end of
2003.[4]However, the then leftist government of Leszek Miller ignored
the views of its own public and, to curry favor with Washington, entered
into a wartime coalition. The Second Gulf War, in which Polish soldiers
participated, as we remember, began under false pretenses, without a UN
mandate, and ultimately resulted in the catastrophic destabilization of
the region. Ultimately, approximately one million Iraqis died directly
and indirectly. The ongoing peace talks in Egypt offer hope for a halt
to the hostilities in Palestine, although a significant portion of
public opinion is convinced that-as in previous cases-they will
ultimately be torpedoed by the far-right Israeli government. Let's hope
these pessimistic predictions prove false.

Jaroslaw Urbanski
www.rozbrat.org

Footnotes:

[1]Current data on the number of deaths can be found, among others, at:
at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/4/live-trumps-tells-israel-stop-bombing-gaza-after-hamas-ceasefire-reply

[2]https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,174372,32254437,ponad-setka-palestynskich-dzieci-poshootonych-w-glowe-i-tors.html;
Link to the report by the newspaper "deVolskrant":
https://www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v/2025/gunshot-palestine-children-israel-war~v1819649/

[3]Research reports no. 87/2025 and no. 79/2025 - available at:
https://www.cbos.pl/PL/publikacje/publikacje.php

[4]Research reports no. BS/51/2003 and no. BS/180/2003 - available at:
https://www.cbos.pl/PL/publikacje/publikacje.php

https://federacja-anarchistyczna.pl/2025/10/16/powstrzymac-izrael-spoleczenstwo-polskie-wobec-wojny-na-bliskim-wschodzie/
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