A far-right Polish lawmaker used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the country’s parliament during an event with members of the Jewish community, provoking outrage and leading the speaker to exclude him from the sitting.
The disruption came ahead of a key vote on whether to approve newly appointed prime minister Donald Tusk.
Footage showed Grzegorz Braun of the Confederation party 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.
Members of the Jewish community, including children, had gone to parliament at speaker Szymon Holownia’s invitation for its annual Hanukkah celebrations.
The footage showed people in the vicinity covered in powder from the extinguisher.
Afterwards Braun took to the podium in the chamber where he described 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.”
