Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday signed into law a bill limiting restitution for Holocaust-related claims.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), responded: "Poland approved today, not for the first time, an anti-Semitic and unethical law. I have ordered this evening the envoy responsible for the Embassy in Warsaw to return immediately to Israel for advisory meetings, for an unlimited amount of time."
"We are holding discussions with the Americans regarding avenues of response in the future, and the new ambassador to Poland, who was supposed to leave for Warsaw soon, will not leave for Poland at this stage.
"This evening, Poland became an anti-democratic country, not liberal, and which does not respect the greatest tragedy in human history. We must never be silent. Israel and the Jewish nation will certainly not remain silent."
The bill, approved Wednesday by the Polish Parliament, prevents the restitution of Jewish property, or compensation for it, to Holocaust survivors and their descendants. The proposed legislation, which will apply in retrospect, will make it almost impossible to appeal decisions made on the subject of stolen property more than 30 years ago.
The law would affect about 90 percent of restitution claims.
Last month, Lapid warned: "This legislation will severely damage our relations with Poland. Poland knows very well what the right and proper thing to do is."
He added: "We consider every progress in this legislative process as a serious development. We will firmly defend the dignity of Holocaust victims, their memory and their rights. This legislation will severely damage our relations with Poland. As I said before, Poland knows very well what the right and proper thing to do is."