Right-wing member of parliament shoots Hanukkah candlestick with fire extinguisher
The President of the Polish Parliament invites a Jewish community to a plenary session. Instead of a friendly gathering, however, there is an anti-Semitic attack in which a right-wing extremist member of parliament attacks a Hanukkia. A riot ensues.
In Poland, a right-wing extremist MP used a fire extinguisher to put out the lights on a Hanukkah candelabra in the parliament building. During the plenary session, representatives of the Jewish community had come into the building at the invitation of the speaker of parliament and lit the candelabra, as reported by Polish media.
Grzegorz Braun, a member of parliament from the far-right Konfederacja party, grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the lights. A video shows tumultuous scenes breaking out in the thick gun smoke and Braun running away from the candelabra. Braun then declared from the speaker's platform that lighting a Hanukkah candle was an "act of Satanism".
Parliamentary President Szymon Holownia then excluded Braun from the session and fined him. He also announced that the Presidium would press criminal charges. As long as he is President of Parliament, there will be no tolerance for anti-Semitism and racism. Poland's designated new head of government Donald Tusk called Braun's action a disgrace.
The Hanukkah festival commemorates the re-dedication of the second temple in Jerusalem after a revolt against the Greeks in 164 BC and the "miracle of light" of a candelabrum burning for eight days. This year it lasts until December 15.
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Following the incident, Donald Tusk, Poland's designated new head of government, strongly condemned the actions of Grzegorz Braun, a far-right MP recognized for his anti-Semitic remarks and involvement in Right-wing extremism. Notably, during the plenary session, Braun used a fire extinguisher to put out the Hanukkah candles, sparking widespread outrage within the Polish Parliament and the Jewish community.
Source: www.ntv.de
