The owner of a large Polish security firm offered to send 100 guards to Israel to help protect civilians against terrorist attacks.
“We would be honoured to send, paid for by our company, 100 of our best-trained and experienced security personnel to Israel to be at your disposal,” Krasicki wrote in the letter, which followed weeks of frequent attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. Eight Israelis and at least 42 Palestinians have died in such attacks and riots since mid-September, according to Reuters.
“As Polish citizens, we have unfortunately seen too many attacks against Jews in our history and know that it starts with you and ends with us, as we have seen in the Holocaust,” Krasicki added, noting that in addition to killing three million Jewish Poles, the Nazis killed another three million non-Jewish ones.
The men Krasicki offered to send to Israel have military background and have all volunteered to serve in Israel, he told JTA.
If accepted, the offer of sending them to Israel for several weeks would cost his firm, which has 5,000 employees, approximately $700,000, he said. In the interview, Krasicki said his motivation was “utter horror at the terrorist attacks” and his own family’s history.
Jonny Daniels, founder of the From the Depths commemoration organization, said that Krasicki “has no special connection to Israel, beyond understanding who’s attacking whom.”
“He approached me with this idea, asking what I thought and if I felt it would be worthwhile and helpful to Israel,” Daniels continued in an email to The CJN. “I told him it would give a strong message to the Jewish people and the people of Israel that they don’t stand alone.”
Daniels explained that From the Depths has a “large outreach program to work with locals,” and Krasicki has been an active member of the community, in addition to being an “absolute mensch and serial do-gooder.”
“People don’t quite realize that Poland is a relatively pro-Israel country,” said Daniels. “Unfortunately, our embassy and foreign ministry isn’t doing nearly enough. There was a clear lack of Israel’s voice in the recent conflicts, with the Palestinians always getting a concise message across.”
Daniels added that he hopes Krasicki’s gesture will be representative of the Polish people’s positive attitude towards Israel.