Poland: Far-right legislator uses fire extinguisher to douse Hanukkah candles in parliament

The speaker of Poland’s parliament expelled a far-right legislator after he extinguished Hanukkah candles in the chamber using a fire extinguisher, sparking anger.

Video footage appeared on the website of private broadcaster TVN24, displaying Grzegorz Braun of the Confederation using the extinguisher and then crossing the parliament lobby to where the candles were. This caused a white cloud to form, prompting security personnel to evacuate the area.

People in the area were seen on television with extinguisher powder all over them.

Then, Grzegorz Braun stood at the chamber platform and called Hanukkah “satanic,” declaring that he was bringing “normalcy” back.

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 declared he would report his acts to the prosecutors and barred him from the meeting.

After shaking hands with fellow far-right members, Braun departed the chamber.

“There will be no tolerance for racism, xenophobia, antisemitism as long as I am the speaker of parliament,” Holownia told reporters.

In a message shared on social media platform X, Poland’s Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, expressed his shame over Braun’s behaviour.

“(I) apologise to the entire Jewish community in Poland,” he wrote.

(With agency inputs)