Polish far-right MP snuffs out Hanukkah menorah with fire extinguisher

 


A rabbi lights candles of a menorah again after an incident in which a far-right lawmaker put out the candles, in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. CZAREK SOKOLOWSKI /AP

Dec 12, 2023. Posted by  Balkan Periscope - Hellas

A far-right Polish lawmaker on Tuesday, December 12, used a fire extinguisher to put out a Hanukkah menorah placed in the parliament lobby, a stunt that saw him ordered out of the assembly by Szymon Holownia, the speaker of Poland's lower house of Parliament.

"This should have never happened," Holownia told reporters after expelling the lawmaker, Grzegorz Braun, to leave the plenary, adding that he would call for an investigation into the incident.

The ceremony for lighting the nine-branched candelabrum was held in the Polish parliament to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights, and was attended by rabbis and a Jewish music band. In videos circulating on Polish media sites, Braun, a pro-Russian lawmaker with the Confederation party, is seen dousing the menorah, filling the parliament's main hall with fumes. Braun has in the past falsely claimed that there is a plot to turn Poland into a "Jewish state."

"SHAME. A Polish Parliament member just did this. Few minutes after we celebrated Hanukkah there," Israel's ambassador to Poland Yacov Livne said on social media, posting a video of the stunt.

Holownia, the parliament speaker, said he ordered Braun to be temporarily barred from proceedings and imposed fines on the ultranationalist lawmaker. "What happened is just disgusting. This is a great Jewish holiday, these people were invited here," Holownia said, adding that "there will be no tolerance of anti-Semitism" in the assembly. After the incident, the candles were lit again.

Prime minister-designate Donald Tusk denounced what he called an "unacceptable" act. "It can't happen again, it's a disgrace," Tusk said as he waited for the parliament to approve his pro-EU government, a vote now delayed amid the chaos triggered by the incident, which was condemned by all parties except for the Confederation.

In his inaugural address to lawmakers – which was disturbed by the incident – Tusk vowed to restore Poland's credibility in the bloc and urged the "free world" to show firm support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. "I can no longer listen to some European politicians, from other Western countries, who speak of being fatigued by the Ukraine situation," Tusk told the parliament. "The attack on Ukraine is an attack on us all," he added, pledging to double down on efforts to help Kyiv "from day one."

Tusk also promised to end the stalemate at Poland's border with Ukraine where Polish truckers have been blocking checkpoints and demanding the reintroduction of entry permits for their Ukrainian competitors.

Tusk additionally expressed a vote of confidence in the European Union. "We are all the stronger, all the more sovereign when not only Poland is stronger but also the European Union," Tusk told lawmakers. Finally, Tusk also presented his roster of ministers. Poland's former top diplomat Radoslaw Sikorski is to make a comeback and lead the foreign ministry again.


Le Monde