Far-right Polish lawmaker extinguishes Hanukkah candles in parliament

 A far-right Polish lawmaker used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the country's parliament, leading the speaker to exclude him from the sitting and provoking outrage.

Footage posted on the website of private broadcaster TVN24 showed Grzegorz Braun of the Confederation take 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.

Television footage showed people in the vicinity covered in powder from the extinguisher.

תיעוד: גז׳גורז׳ בראון, אחד מראשי מפלגת הימין הקיצוני ״הקונפדרציה״, ששבה לפרלמנט הפולני, כיבה במטף כיבוי את החנוכייה המוצבת בבניין הפרלמנט הפולני. @DovGilHar מזכיר כי אותו אדם קרא לפני כחודש לשגריר ישראל בפולין "ללכת הביתה" או "ללכת לעזאזל"@RamEliBrandts pic.twitter.com/ZrwnZDx8z3

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 12, 2023

He then took to the podium in the chamber where he described the Hanukkah as "satanic" and said he was restoring "normality."

Asked just 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.

Religious leaders express condemnation

Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich told Reuters by telephone 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 said in a statement posted on social media platform X that he was ashamed of Braun's actions.

"I apologize to the entire Jewish community in Poland," he wrote.

According to the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) statement on Tuesday, "Rabbi Schudrich, engaged in discussions with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, condemning the incident and coordinating the rekindling of the menorah within the parliament.

In addition, President of the CER Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt said: "Today, we bore witness to an event characterized by incitement and top-tier antisemitism. If the Polish parliament fails to safeguard the dignity and security of the Jewish community, how can they ensure their protection in the public sphere? Braun's actions, as a member of the far-right party, put the lives of Jewish community members at risk and could potentially lead to further attacks. I urge the authorities to launch an investigation into Braun and hold him accountable. The time for action is now."

Schudrich, added: "Throughout history, numerous adversaries have risen against the Jewish people, ranging from the Greeks during the Maccabean period to present-day Hamas. Many have attempted to snuff out our light, yet all have met failure."