Poland: Far right MP in horrific antisemitic attack as he uses fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles
Poland: Far right MP uses fire extinguisher to put out candles for Hanukkah
Reuters
A far-right Polish lawmaker used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the country's parliament.
Grzegorz Braun used the extinguisher to put out the candles, leading the speaker to exclude him from the sitting and provoking outrage.
Footage posted on the website of private broadcaster TVN24 showed Braun of the Confederation take the extinguisher before walking across the lobby of the parliament to where the candles were.
After creating a white cloud, security guards were forced to rush people out of the area.
Grzegorz Braun from Konfederacja walks after using a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles at the parliament in Warsaw
Reuters
When asked what he was doing, Braun said: "Those who take part in acts of Satanic worship should be ashamed."
He then took to the podium in the chamber where he described Hanukkah as "satanic" and said he was restoring "normality".
Candles were then relit by Rabbis in the Polish parliament, afterBraun put them out with a fire extinguisher.
Members of parliament from Law and Justice, the former ruling party, have asked to postpone the Sejm session until tomorrow.
The MP was seen in the Polish parliament
Reuters
US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said: "I am outraged by the nasty anti-Semitic act committed today by one of the Polish members of parliament. The United States stands against anti-Semitism and this outrageous act must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
"Poland has experienced the atrocities of the Holocaust throughout its history, and this disgusting act of hatred reminds us all why we must remain vigilant and fight anti-Semitism every minute of every day."
The speaker of the parliament, Szymon Holownia, said: "This should have never happened. Poland is home for all religions."
Braun, a pro-Russian member of the Confederation party, in the past has falsely claimed that there is a plot to turn Poland into a “Jewish state."
Far right Polish MP Grzegorz Braun spoke in Parliament after using a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles
Reuters
Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski said: "There is no place for anti-Semitic attacks neither in the Polish parliament nor in Poland in general. I trust that the prosecutor’s office will think similarly."
It comes as former president of the European Council was elected as Polish Prime Minister and is set to be sworn in tomorrow, Wednesday, December 13.
Mr Tusk's centrist coalition won most seats in October's elections but had been unable to take office until now.
The far right Law and Justice (PiS) party, led by Mateusz Morawiecki, emerged as the single biggest party after the election, but other parties refused to work alongside it and it was not able to form a majority in parliament. Morawiecki lost a vote of confidence on Monday, paving the way for Mr Tusk to return to power.