Polish lawmaker sparks controversy after displaying Israeli flag with Nazi swastika
Polish MP displays an altered flag in Poland's lower house of parliament, where he critiqued the Israeli government and called for Poland to sever ties with Tel Aviv.
A Polish lawmaker has sparked controversy in the country's parliament in Warsaw by displaying an Israeli flag in which the Star of David had been replaced with a Nazi swastika, saying Israel is the "new Third Reich."
Konrad Berkowicz held up the altered flag during a speech in the Sejm, Poland's lower house of parliament, where he slammed the Israeli government and called for Poland to sever ties with Israel.
The incident drew protests from some lawmakers in the chamber, who linked the move to antisemitism, while making no mention of Israel's genocidal war in Gaza or its ongoing occupation of the West Bank
Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned the display, saying on social media that "there is no place in Polish public life for antisemitism, hate, or the desecration of the memory of the victims of Nazi crimes."
Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia said he had instructed parliamentary lawyers to examine whether Berkowicz's remarks and the altered flag violated Polish law.
The episode comes amid an already strained debate in Poland over the genocide in Gaza.
Recently, there has been a rise in criticism of Israel in several European parliaments, including the European Parliament itself, with some MEPs describing it as a "terrorist state" due to Israeli massacres of Palestinians.