Israeli 'spits at' Polish ambassador in street amid ongoing diplomatic dispute

Police arrest 65-year-old architect over alleged assault

Marek Magierowski, the Polish ambassador to Israel, said he was attacked outside the embassy in Tel Aviv (AP)

Poland has condemned a “racist attack” on its ambassador to Israel after he was allegedly spat at in the street, reigniting the diplomatic row between the two countries.

A 65-year-old Israeli architect, Arik Lederman, was arrested over the alleged assault on Marek Magierowski outside the embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Police are now investigating the incident, which was described by Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki as a “xenophobic act of aggression”.

The Polish foreign ministry also summoned Israel’s ambassador to Warsaw, Anna Azari, in protest.

It came amid an ongoing row over the Holocaust and requests for the return of Jewish property confiscated during the Second World War.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent months over accusations that Warsaw’s nationalist PiS government has tolerated a revival of antisemitic behaviour.

The dispute intensified in February after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Poles cooperated with the Nazis” during the occupation.

Poland pulled out of a key European summit as a result and cancelled a visit by an Israeli delegation due to take place on Monday.

Mr Magierowski said the latest incident began when he was sitting in his car outside the Polish embassy in Tel Aviv.

A man “approached the vehicle of the Polish ambassador to Israel, opened the door and then spat”, said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Mr Lederman apologised for the incident at court, claiming he did not realise it was the Polish ambassador, but caused further outrage by accusing a security guard at the embassy of hurling antisemitic abuse.

“My family suffered the hardships of the Holocaust in Poland and I came to the embassy on the issue of restitution,” he said. “During that I was subjected to derogatory treatment by one of the embassy employees.”

He said he was walking away when “a vehicle came from behind me and honked at me loudly, frightening me. I expressed my anger in a way that I regret”.

Mr Magierowski described the claims about the security guard as ”bizarre”, tweeting: “Simply not true. He is a loyal, hard-working, well-trained and delicate person. Not a single complaint.​”

The suspect’s lawyer said the incident was “an almost Kafkaesque story” that had been ”blown out of proportion”.

Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said: “Israel expresses its full sympathy with the Polish ambassador and shock at the attack. Israeli police currently investigating.

“We will update our Polish friends. This is a top priority to us, as we are fully committed to diplomats’ safety and security.”

Additional reporting by Reuters