A far-right deputy in the Polish parliament used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the candles of a chandelier that were lit on the occasion of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, generating riots and accusations of anti-Semitism and xenophobia, the AP agency reports.
‼️ BREAKING: Polish MP Grzegorz Braun blows out Hanukkah candles with a fire extinguisher in the parliament building!
Those around him can be heard saying: “You should be ashamed.”
He responds: “Those who participate in acts of satanic worship should be ashamed.” pic.twitter.com/JQyiHqPEvf
– Mr. Bebo (@MyLordBebo) December 12, 2023
The act by Grzegorz Braun, one of the most controversial deputies in parliament, occurred when the new pro-European Union government began to function and was criticized by the main political forces, who said that there was no tolerance towards anti-Semitic and xenophobic behavior in parliament.
Grzegorz Braun, a pro-Russian member of the Confederation party, has said in the past that there was a plan to transform Poland into a “Jewish state” and called for homosexuality to be criminalized.
The President of Parliament, Szymon Holownia, described this act as “absolutely scandalous” and excluded Braun from today’s parliamentary session, announcing that he would report the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Polish parliament also applied the largest possible financial penalty to the far-right MP, making him lose half of three months of his salary and his allowances for half a year.
According to video of the incident, Braun grabbed a fire extinguisher and extinguished the candles on the seven-branched candelabra, one of the main symbols of Judaism.
This incident was also criticized by the Polish Catholic Church.
“I feel embarrassed and I apologize to the entire Jewish community in Poland,” Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, who heads a committee for dialogue with Judaism, wrote on social media.
Source: TSF
