Overview
- Konrad Berkowicz, a far-right lawmaker, held up an Israeli flag altered with a swastika during a Sejm speech Tuesday, calling Israel the “new Third Reich.”
- Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty rebuked the display and said he is moving to fine Berkowicz for presenting Nazi symbols in the chamber.
- Parliament leaders are weighing a referral to prosecutors after the incident, which occurred as Poland marked Yom HaShoah.
- Israel’s embassy condemned what it called an antisemitic act, Poland’s foreign ministry said the gesture was deeply offensive, and the U.S. ambassador issued a sharp public rebuke.
- Polish law outlaws public promotion of Nazi symbols under Article 256, which can carry up to three years in prison, and officials also flagged possible charges for insulting a foreign state’s flag.