Polish prosecutors announced on Wednesday the opening of an investigation against a far-right MP who extinguished a Hanukkah menorah in Parliament, the day after this incident widely condemned by the political class.
MP from the ultra-nationalist Confederation party, Grzegorz Braun, used a fire extinguisher on Tuesday evening to extinguish a menorah, a seven-branched candlestick, symbol of Judaism, which was illuminated in the hall of Parliament.
An “unacceptable” act
This incident was condemned by the main political parties as well as by the new Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, who denounced an “unacceptable” act. The prosecutor’s office announced in a statement that it had opened an investigation into the incident and was in the process of “gathering evidence” in the case.
The speaker of the lower house of Parliament, Szymon Holownia, who temporarily excluded Grzegorz Braun from the plenary session, considered that the incident “clearly fits into the Russian agenda”. This “act of absolute aggressiveness, stupidity and bestiality which took place yesterday (…) clearly suits the enemies of Poland”, he added.
“A mission dictated from the Kremlin”
Poland is one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in its fight against Russian aggression and the new prime minister has called for more aid to kyiv.
Marek Sawicki, MP from the “Third Voice” bloc, member of the government coalition, also considered that the incident in Parliament was not “an isolated act”. It was a mission dictated directly from the Kremlin, (…) which aimed to damage Poland’s image on the international scene,” he said on national radio.
Grzegorz Braun, an ultra-nationalist MP known for his past anti-Semitic acts and anti-Ukrainian statements, had already been financially sanctioned and excluded from Parliament. MPs were debating the new government when the incident occurred, delaying the vote of confidence in the cabinet led by Donald Tusk who had earlier announced from the podium his support for Ukraine.
“It was a strong message sent to Moscow and literally a few hours later there was an attempt to discredit Poland’s position in the world,” said Pawel Kowal, an MP from Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition.