Nonetheless, some 130,000 Jews in various branches of the Polish armed forces fought against the Nazis during World War Two. Some of them now living in Israel showed up bemedaled and beribboned at the Joselewicz ceremony to prove that he had left a legacy. One of the reasons that the event became emotional was that Israel Postal company CEO Avi Hochman was born in Poland and is a dual national. Master of ceremonies, Israel Radio's Arie Golan was also born in Poland as was General (Res) Chaim Erez, the chairman of Yad Leshiryon. The degree of Polish sentiment in the auditorium was almost tangible, and became acutely evident when something went wrong with the sound system and instead of the Polish national anthem, there was prolonged dead silence. Sculptor Samuel Willenberg, one of the few survivors of Treblinka, started to sing the refrain of the anthem 'Jeszcze Polska nie zginela' (Poland is not yet lost), and almost immediately was joined by most other people in the hall who kept singing even when the loudspeaker finally worked.

Willenberg was in his native town of Czestochowa last month for the dedication of his impressive monument marking the mass grave of tens of thousands of Jews. The four-and-a-half meter high monument incorporates a brick fence such as those that surrounded houses in pre-war Poland. The fence has been deliberately and symbolically broken. Stretching across it are two genuine railway tracks which go nowhere, but transform themselves into a Star of David. The monument also contains the historical record of how the Jews came to be murdered there.

Willenberg has been invited to bring an exhibition of his works to Germany where they will be displayed in a large Protestant church which has an art gallery and which is very partial to showcasing exhibitions that are either by Jews or related to the Holocaust.

The event was also attended by Polish soldiers from the United Nations peacekeeping forces on the Golan Heights, who later in the day went to the residence of Polish Ambassador Agnieska Magdziak-Miszewska in Kfar Shmaryahu to prepare a Polish Constitution Day feast. It has been a long tradition for the feast to be prepared by the soldiers. The Polish Constitution, adopted in 1791, was the first liberal, democratic constitution in Europe, and the second in the world after that of the United States.

The ambassador read a message from Polish President Lech Kaczynski, and on his behalf conferred medals on four Jewish heroes who had fought with the Polish Army in the Second World War. One was Rabbi Pinchas Rosengarten, who had been a chaplain in Anders Army, but was unable to attend the ceremony. The other three, who already had a number of medals to their credit, were Pinchas Adler, who was a navigator in the Polish Air Force, Peretz Hochman and Samuel Gus.

Among the many guests congregated on the lawn was Piotr Puchta, the representative of the Republic of Poland to the Palestinian Authority, who was formerly a Counsellor at the Polish Embassy in Israel after having served previously in low ranking diplomatic positions under different ambassadors. He has been appointed Poland's next ambassador to Egypt.

A second generation diplomat, Puchta was born in Israel when his father was serving here prior to the long hiatus in the severance of diplomatic relations. The younger Puchta returned to Israel very soon after the renewal of diplomatic ties, and gradually moved up in the ranks. He has a son who was born in Jerusalem, so his ties with the region are very strong.