Disturbing 'How To Recognize a Jew' Story Runs on Front Page of Newspaper in Poland
A right-wing Polish newspaper has reopened old wounds and ignited new claims of anti-Semitism with a front-page article that tells readers “how to recognize a Jew.”
The weekly newspaper Only Poland published the article along with one bearing the headline “Attack on Poland at a conference in Paris.” That article claimed speakers at a Holocaust studies conference in Paris were anti-Poland for saying that Poles were complicit in the Holocaust.
More #Antisemitism in #Poland : Right-Wing newspaper tells it’s readers ‘How to recognize a Jew’ on the Front Page.https://t.co/pFzWCZBVmB#Poland – #Hungary – #Italy is becoming the new Axis. pic.twitter.com/MglGxWhIL9
— John O’Connell (@jdpoc) March 14, 2019
The article about recognizing Jewish citizens carried the headline, “How to defeat them? This cannot go on!”
The article listed “names, anthropological features, expressions, appearances, character traits, methods of operation” and alleged “disinformation activities, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.
The publication made waves because it was delivered to Polish lawmakers are part of their routine communications packet.
Legislator Michal Kamiski of the center-right Poland Comes First party denounced the publication and said it was an “absolute scandal” that such “filthy texts, as if taken from Nazi newspapers” were sold in the Polish parliament building, according to The Independent, which translated his remarks from Polish-language Polsat News.
After initially saying there was nothing he could do about the paper’s presence, Andrzej Grzegrzolka, director of the information center of the Polish Parliament, said the paper would, in the future, be removed from publications delivered to the Parliament.
Their ancestors on WWII knew how to spot a #Jew well enough – they killed them when they could.#Poland #AntiSemitismhttps://t.co/aifihHrKSL
— Tzippy Yarom-Diskind صِپورة (@zpyarom) March 14, 2019
Poland cannot hide from what Hitler achieved within Poland. A Cemetery of such dimensions, 6,000,000 The #Holocaust of which 3,000,000 are their own Polish Jews. Responsibility in part amongst Poles who cared little.
— Patrick (@Patrick63104016) March 11, 2019
Poland: “Saying Poland has ever had a problem with antisemitism is literally racist against Poles”
Also Poland: https://t.co/4u4KMJUhM0— Tina Lee (@tinaleeinberlin) March 14, 2019
Jewish leaders in Poland deplored the article but praised reactions of Polish politicians who condemned the article.
“’How to spot a Jew’ is particularly upsetting and awful,” said Jonathan Ornstein, director of Krakow’s Jewish Community Center, according to The Washington Post. “I don’t think it necessarily represents mainstream Polish thinking at all. It’s an extreme publication, an extreme far right publication.”
“It’s a completely marginal paper. Doesn’t make it right, doesn’t make it less ugly, but it’s a completely marginal paper,” echoed Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich.
“The concern is that you want to hear from mainstream politicians condemning and saying, this doesn’t have a place in Poland,” Schudrich said. “This happened yesterday. We need a little bit of time to see how Polish officials will react.”
“I think that, because of the particular history here in Poland, things like (the article) always get magnified,” said Ornstein.
In 2018, Poland approved a law making it a crime to say that Poles were complicit in the Holocaust. The initial proposal sought to jail offenders, but the jail terms were later removed.
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