Desecration of Hanukkah menorah
MP loses immunity after fire extinguisher attack
January 17, 2024, 10:37 p.m
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On the occasion of the Jewish Festival of Lights, there is a Hanukkah menorah in the entrance area of the Polish Parliament. But a right-wing radical MP doesn’t agree with this and smothers the burning candles with a fire extinguisher. The politician is now facing legal consequences because of the attack.
The Polish parliament has lifted the immunity of a right-wing lawmaker who used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the candles of a Hanukkah menorah set up in the parliament lobby in December. The parliament in Warsaw thus cleared the way for a possible lawsuit against Grzegorz Braun from the ultranationalist Confederation party.
The seven-armed candlestick was set up in the parliament lobby in Warsaw in December to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. Jews commemorate the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after an uprising against the Greeks in 164 BC. Braun put out the candles with a fire extinguisher. The action caused the parliamentary chamber to fill with smoke. The confidence vote that was supposed to confirm the current pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk was delayed.
The incident caused great outrage and horror. Tusk spoke of a “disgrace” that should never be repeated again. Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia said “what happened is simply disgusting.” There is “no tolerance for anti-Semitism” in parliament.
Braun was temporarily excluded from meetings and fined. The Polish public prosecutor’s office started an investigation. According to her own statements, she wants to charge the MP with, among other things, damaging property and denigrating a religious object. The way has now been cleared for such a step with the lifting of the MP’s parliamentary immunity.