Current:Home > FinanceTop Polish leaders celebrate Hanukkah in parliament after antisemitic incident-LoTradeCoin
Top Polish leaders celebrate Hanukkah in parliament after antisemitic incident
View Date:2024-12-23 19:44:23
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Top Polish leaders joined members of the Jewish community for a Hanukkah celebration in parliament Thursday after a far-right lawmaker used a fire extinguisher to put out burning candles on a menorah earlier this week.
The attendance of the president, speaker of parliament and other top legislative officials sent the message that there is no tolerance in Poland for the kind of antisemitic behavior that erupted in parliament halls Tuesday, shocking the country and drawing widespread condemnation across the political spectrum. A woman was injured in the incident and was still in a hospital two days later.
Rabbi Shalom Ber Stambler of the Chabad community, who has organized the Hanukkah event in parliament for the 17th straight year, told those gathered that the candle lighting symbolized a celebration of tolerance and freedom of religion.
“We will dispel darkness through light, and we are lucky that a little light can dispel a lot of darkness,” Stambler said.
President Andrzej Duda stood by a large menorah as the parliament speaker, Szymon Holownia, lit a candle, with other Jewish community members lighting the others on the eighth and last night of the Jewish festival of lights.
Duda and Holownia are among the highest leaders in Poland. The other top leader, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, was in Brussels for a European Union summit. He also strongly denounced the earlier antisemitic incident.
“Something terrible happened but the reaction of the overwhelming majority of the country is that there is no place for this in Poland today,” the country’s U.S.-born chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, told The Associated Press after the ceremony. “That’s the real face of Poland today.”
Grzegorz Braun is a lawmaker on the extreme right fringe who is considered one of the most controversial officials in Poland. On Tuesday he grabbed a red fire extinguisher and extinguished candles on a menorah that were lit for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, creating disruption and scandal as a new pro-EU government was beginning its work. A Jewish community member who tried to stop him, and he reacted by spraying her with the extinguisher chemical.
Braun, a member of the Confederation party, has in the past falsely claimed there is a plot to turn Poland into a “Jewish state.” In May, he violently disrupted a lecture by a Holocaust scholar, Jan Grabowski, at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw in May, grabbing his microphone from him and banging it on the lectern before banging on a loudspeaker.
He was banned from the parliament building on Thursday.
Poland was once home to a large Jewish community that numbered nearly 3.5 million on the eve of the Holocaust. Almost all of Poland’s Jews were murdered by the Nazi German forces that occupied Poland in World War II.
veryGood! (1628)
Related
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- I'm a Shopping Editor, Here's What I'm Buying During Amazon Prime Day 2023
- Meta's Threads wants to become a 'friendly' place by downgrading news and politics
- Get a TikTok-Famous Electric Peeler With 11,400+ 5-Star Reviews for Just $20 on Amazon Prime Day 2023
- Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
- Amazon Prime Day 2023 Home & Kitchen Deals: Save Big on Dyson, Keurig, Nespresso & More Must-Have Brands
- Melanie Griffith Covers Up Antonio Banderas Tattoo With Tribute to Dakota Johnson and Family
- A beginner's guide to getting into gaming
- 'Survivor' 47, Episode 9: Jeff Probst gave players another shocking twist. Who went home?
- Get That Vitamix Blender You’ve Always Wanted and Save 45% on Amazon Prime Day 2023
Ranking
- Diddy's ex-bodyguard sues rape accuser for defamation over claims of 2001 assault
- Malaysia's government cancels festival after The 1975's Matty Healy kisses a bandmate
- Meta leans on 'wisdom of crowds' in AI model release
- Get That Vitamix Blender You’ve Always Wanted and Save 45% on Amazon Prime Day 2023
- Food prices worried most voters, but Trump’s plans likely won’t lower their grocery bills
- SAG-AFTRA agrees to contract extension with studios as negotiations continue
- Reddit says new accessibility tools for moderators are coming. Mods are skeptical
- Alix Earle Influenced Me To Add These 20 Products to My Amazon Cart for Prime Day 2023
Recommendation
-
Mike Tyson is expected to honor late daughter during Jake Paul fight. Here's how.
-
Inflation eases to its lowest in over two years, but it's still running a bit high
-
The ‘Both Siderism’ That Once Dominated Climate Coverage Has Now Become a Staple of Stories About Eating Less Meat
-
Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started
-
Colorado police shot, kill mountain lion after animal roamed on school's campus
-
Claire Danes Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Hugh Dancy
-
A stolen Christopher Columbus letter found in Delaware returns to Italy decades later
-
Wisconsin Advocates Push to Ensure $700 Million in Water Infrastructure Improvements Go to Those Who Need It Most