Poland’s president says will sign Holocaust bill, defying critics

By Pawel Sobczak WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s president said on Tuesday he would sign into law a bill that imposes jail terms for suggesting the country was complicit in the Holocaust, defying criticism from Israel, the United States and activists. Andrzej Duda said in a televised address the legislation would safeguard Poland’s international reputation, but Israel called for amendments, saying the two countries had a “joint responsibility” to preserve the memory of the Holocaust. “(This bill) … protects Polish interests … our dignity, the historical truth… so that we are not slandered as a state and as a nation,” said Duda, an ally of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) which introduced the legislation.