Poland’s ‘Most Notorious Antisemite’ Wins European Parliament Seat

Jun11
Poland’s ‘Most Notorious Antisemite’ Wins European Parliament Seat

Algemeiner Staff

Antisemitic Polish MP Grzegorz Braun is seen moments after extinguishing a Hanukkah menorah in the Polish parliament. Photo: Screenshot

A virulently antisemitic member of the Polish parliament who extinguished the candles of a lit Hanukkah menorah with a fire extinguisher last December has won a seat in the European Parliament elections, riding a wave of far-right success across the continent.

Grzegorz Braun is a candidate for Confederation (Konfederacja), a Polish far-right party with an antisemitic and anti-Ukraine political stance. The party received 12.1 percent, coming in third place, by far its best showing ever.

According to exit polls, the far-right party was the most popular choice among young voters in Poland, receiving 31 percent of votes from those aged 18 to 29.

“Grzegorz Braun is the most notorious antisemite in Polish politics today and one of the most active antisemites in Europe,” said Rafal Pankowski, executive director of “Never Again,” the leading Polish anti-racist association. “As an MP for the far-right Confederation Party he is also known for extreme anti-Ukrainian and anti-LGBT statements. His words and actions legitimize and incite violence against minorities. He must be held accountable and he must not be given a platform to continue promoting hatred.”

The antisemitic incident occurred last year in a hallway of the Sejm, Poland’s legislative assembly, where a menorah was on display celebrating the annual Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Braun grabbed a fire extinguisher to spray the menorah, filling the area with smoke. Dozens of people who attended the candle lighting ceremony, including several children, were immediately evacuated by security officers.

Braun was promptly thrown out of the parliament by speaker Szymon Holownia, who promised a formal investigation into the incident. “There will be no tolerance for racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and any other deviations as long as I am the Speaker of the Sejm,” he later said.

Braun also launched into an antisemitic rant after attacking the menorah, telling those who berated him that they were the ones who should feel “ashamed to participate in the acts of a Satanic Talmudic cult.” He then doubled down with a post on X/Twitter that declared, “There can be no place for acts of racist, wild, Talmudic worship on the premises of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland!”

One reporter who witnessed the incident was adamant that Braun had planned his act in advance. “I had the impression that from the beginning he knew when he was grabbing the fire extinguisher what he wanted to do. He had it planned in some way,” said Sebastian Napieraj, a reporter with broadcaster TVN24. “There was a film crew with him who filmed it all.”

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