Far-right Polish lawmaker extinguishes Hanukkah candles in parliament

News2023.12.12. 21:53

Far-right lawmaker Grzegorz Braun used a fire extinguisher to put out Hannukah candles in Poland’s parliament.

After putting out the Hanukkah candles in the parliament, Polish far-right lawmaker Grzegorz Braun then took to the podium in the chamber, where he described Hanukkah as „satanic”. His move provoked outrage, and he was excluded from the sitting, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Video footage shows how Braun took the extinguisher before walking across the lobby of the parliament to where the candles were, creating a white cloud and forcing security guards to rush people out of the area.

He then took to the podium in the chamber and claimed that Hanukkah was „satanic” and said he was restoring „normality.”

When asked after the incident if he was ashamed, Braun replied: „Those who take part in acts of Satanic worship should be ashamed.”

Speaker Szymon Holownia excluded him from the sitting and said he would inform prosecutors about his actions. Braun left the chamber, shaking hands with other far-right lawmakers.

„There will be no tolerance for racism, xenophobia, antisemitism … as long as I am the speaker of parliament,” Holownia told reporters.

Poland’s Chief Rabbi, Michael Schudrich, said that Braun’s actions were not representative of the country and that he was „embarrassed” by them.

„Someone extinguished the Hanukkah candles, and a few minutes later, we relit them,” he said. „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.”

Cardinal Grzegorz Rys of Poland’s Catholic church wrote on X that he was ashamed of Braun’s actions and added, „I apologise to the entire Jewish community in Poland”.

In addition, President of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt said: „Today, we bore witness to an event characterised by incitement and top-tier antisemitism… I urge the authorities to launch an investigation into Braun and hold him accountable. The time for action is now.”

 

Photo credit: Reuters