Scandal in the Polish Parliament: Right-wing MP extinguishes Hanukkah menorah with fire extinguisher Immigration law: defeat for the French government due to unholy alliance

In Poland, a right-wing lawmaker used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the lights of a Hanukkah menorah in the parliament building. During the plenary session, representatives of the Jewish community entered the building at the invitation of the speaker of parliament and lit the candlestick.

The television channel TVN24 showed images of MP Grzegorz Braun of the right-wing extremist Konfederacja grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall, turning on the fire jet and aiming it at the burning lights of the Hanukkah menorah.

There was a scuffle with a representative of the Jewish community. Social media shows tumultuous scenes of gun smoke before Braun leaves the foyer. From the speaker’s podium, the lawmaker then declared that lighting a Hanukkah candlestick was an “act of Satanism.”

Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia subsequently excluded Braun from the meeting and announced that the Presidium would file a criminal complaint. As long as he is President of Parliament, there will be no tolerance for anti-Semitism and racism there. Poland’s new prime minister, Donald Tusk, called Braun’s action a shame.

The festival of Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after a revolt against the Greeks in 164 BC and the “miracle of light” of a lampstand that burned for eight days. This year it lasts until December 15. (sda/dpa)