Worldcrunch
The number of Israeli citizens applying for a Polish passport has quadrupled, and law offices as well as provincial citizenship offices have been struggling to keep up with the rising demand. But why have so many people suddenly taken an interest in Poland?
The death of a 27-year-old hotel worker on the island of Kos, and the subsequent arrest of a suspect from Bangladesh, had set off a firestorm back in Poland that mixes anti-immigrant contempt with victim blaming. One year later, the storm hasn’t quieted down, as the investigation remains open.
The Puszcza Białowieska, one of Europe’s oldest forests, has become a battleground, with environmentalists increasingly concerned about widespread logging in the forest, which is also ground zero for heightened tensions with neighbor Belarus and the ongoing migration crisis. And, all across Poland, increased logging with political motivations has been stirring activist tensions.