Marcin Wolski, the director of the Polish national television station TVP2, accused the local Jewish community of being behind recent protests by Polish citizens against the government during a live television interview.
Hundreds of thousands of Poles have taken to the streets to protest against the ruling Law and Justice political party since it came to power 15 months ago.
New legislation introduced by the Law and Justice party would allow the government to dismiss and replace the directors of state media and to appoint new justices to the Constitutional Court. Demonstrations have also been held in protest against legislation to limit abortions and to give preference to the Catholic Church.
In an interview on the television programme, “Behind the Vision,” Wolsky stated: “Instead of taking part in the New Year’s Eve Opłatek (wafers which Christians in Poland give to each other on Christmas Eve), they’re giving matzot to each other at the protests.”
He went on to recite a satirical poem which implied that Jews were behind the protests.
Wolsky’s interview was uploaded to Facebook by a Polish organisation seeking to combat racism and xenophobia, which filed a complaint with the management of the television statement over the antisemitic remarks.
Jewish community leaders in Poland filed their own complaint with the National Media Council against Wolsky. They also sent Wolsky a package of matza and leaflets explaining the phenomenon of antisemitism.
“We cannot just ignore the [antisemitic statements]of Marcin Wolsky. We believe that words have meaning. They can hurt, offend and humiliate other people. One must not accept such statements. Our goal is to call a spade a spade – antisemitism is a crime and these kinds of statements should not be uttered, especially in public media.” said Anna Chipczynska, president of the Jewish community of Warsaw.
