A-Infos (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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