Grzegorz Braun described Hanukkah as “satanic” and said he was restoring “normality” – and was later excluded from the day’s parliamentary proceedings.
A Polish politician has been filmed using a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the country’s parliament.
Grzegorz Braun, leader of the far-right Confederation of the Crown of Poland party, was seen taking the extinguisher off a wall before walking across the lobby to where the candles were.
A cloud of white powder filled the area, covering people in the vicinity, footage posted by broadcaster TVN24 showed.
Mr Braun then took to the podium in the chamber where he described Hanukkah – an eight-day Jewish festival – as “satanic” and said he was restoring “normality”.
“Those who take part in acts of Satanic worship should be ashamed,” he said when asked if he was ashamed of his actions.
Speaker Szymon Holownia later excluded the politician from the day’s parliamentary proceedings. He called the act “absolutely scandalous” and said he would inform prosecutors about Mr Braun’s actions.
“There will be no tolerance for racism, xenophobia, antisemitism… as long as I am the speaker of parliament,” he told reporters.
“Poland is home of all religions.”
Mr Braun left the chamber shaking hands with other far-right politicians.
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Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said he was “embarrassed” by Mr Braun’s actions and that they were not representative of the country.
“For thousands of years our enemies have been trying to extinguish us, from the time of the Maccabees right through to Hamas. But our enemies should learn, they cannot extinguish us,” he said.
The candles were relit a few minutes later, Rabbi Schudrich said.
Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, of Poland’s Catholic Church, apologised to the “entire Jewish community in Poland,” adding that he was ashamed of the politician’s actions.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
