“It runs the strong risk of enforcing a distorted view of history and chilling debate on the destruction of Polish Jewry."
The law, which came into force last month, has proved highly controversial, particularly in Israel, where the Foreign Ministry publicly stated that it viewed “with the utmost gravity any attempt to challenge historical truth”.
In a letter which was sent a month ago, but which has only just now been made public, the Chief Rabbi wrote to the Polish ambassador to express his "great concern" at the new law.
"Public discourse babout the Holocaust must be respectful, accurate and honest," Rabbi Mirvis wrote.
"I believe that anything which serves to inhibit that discourse threatens the very integrity of the memory of the Shoah.
"It seems quite clear to me that this legislation, though intended to protect historical truth, can, in fact, only undermine it."
