Post by Bonobo on Jan 30, 2020 10:26:46 GMT 1
facet.onet.pl/warto-wiedziec/most-najwieksza-operacja-sluzb-specjalnych-w-historii-swiata/yd17b7r
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operacja_Most
Unfortunately, most informative and detailed articles are in Polish above.
The secret operation dubbed ‘Operation Bridge’ involved the transit of Soviet Jews to Israel via Warsaw, Poland. This operation was one of the foundations of a new opening of relations between the two countries.
telawiw.msz.gov.pl/pl//aktualnosci/ambasador_dla_israel_hayom
Bridge to the future
"Just as in the Middle Ages Poland gave refuge to Jews fleeing persecution, so today Poland will not evade humanitarian assistance to Jews emigrating from the Soviet Union," said the late Tadeusz Mazowiecki, first non-Communist Polish prime minister, when he announced in March 1990 one of the most spectacular, yet still not well-known, endeavors in the history of Polish-Israeli relations.
In the next few months, some 40,000 Soviet Jews seeking aliyah were secretly transited from the crumbling Soviet Union via Poland to Israel in what was called Operation Bridge. El Al's aircraft were flying back and forth between Tel Aviv and Warsaw. Polish security forces were given orders to seal the Okecie Airport at night, so the planes could land and take off unnoticed. It was an incredible, sustained, and concerted effort of hundreds of Poles and Israelis. The aim was simple: Restore hope for Soviet Jews who wanted to start new lives in their motherland. But also, and no less importantly, to breathe life into renewed Polish-Israeli relations.
Shortly before Operation Bridge began, 25 years ago, Poland and Israel signed a protocol that restored diplomatic relations. Embassies were set up again, direct flights were re-established, business opportunities opened up, and people were offered the chance to visit each other. The period of more than two-decades-long holdup that ensued after the Six-Day War and the break-off of diplomatic ties between the Soviet camp and Israel was drawing to a close. In February 1990, Poland was no longer a Communist state. As a sovereign country we could start shaping our own foreign policy and choose partners to our liking. By organizing the mass evacuation of Soviet Jews via Warsaw (Moscow at that time had no official relations with Israel, so direct cooperation was impossible), Poland extended its hand to the Israeli government. That hand was grasped, and 25 years later is still firmly held.
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operacja_Most
Unfortunately, most informative and detailed articles are in Polish above.
The secret operation dubbed ‘Operation Bridge’ involved the transit of Soviet Jews to Israel via Warsaw, Poland. This operation was one of the foundations of a new opening of relations between the two countries.
telawiw.msz.gov.pl/pl//aktualnosci/ambasador_dla_israel_hayom
Bridge to the future
"Just as in the Middle Ages Poland gave refuge to Jews fleeing persecution, so today Poland will not evade humanitarian assistance to Jews emigrating from the Soviet Union," said the late Tadeusz Mazowiecki, first non-Communist Polish prime minister, when he announced in March 1990 one of the most spectacular, yet still not well-known, endeavors in the history of Polish-Israeli relations.
In the next few months, some 40,000 Soviet Jews seeking aliyah were secretly transited from the crumbling Soviet Union via Poland to Israel in what was called Operation Bridge. El Al's aircraft were flying back and forth between Tel Aviv and Warsaw. Polish security forces were given orders to seal the Okecie Airport at night, so the planes could land and take off unnoticed. It was an incredible, sustained, and concerted effort of hundreds of Poles and Israelis. The aim was simple: Restore hope for Soviet Jews who wanted to start new lives in their motherland. But also, and no less importantly, to breathe life into renewed Polish-Israeli relations.
Shortly before Operation Bridge began, 25 years ago, Poland and Israel signed a protocol that restored diplomatic relations. Embassies were set up again, direct flights were re-established, business opportunities opened up, and people were offered the chance to visit each other. The period of more than two-decades-long holdup that ensued after the Six-Day War and the break-off of diplomatic ties between the Soviet camp and Israel was drawing to a close. In February 1990, Poland was no longer a Communist state. As a sovereign country we could start shaping our own foreign policy and choose partners to our liking. By organizing the mass evacuation of Soviet Jews via Warsaw (Moscow at that time had no official relations with Israel, so direct cooperation was impossible), Poland extended its hand to the Israeli government. That hand was grasped, and 25 years later is still firmly held.