Polish anti-Semitism festers on the ‘Net

GRAFFITI of a swastika and the words “Jude Raus” (Jew, get out) recently appeared overnight on the headquarters of a liberal opposition movement in the Polish capital Warsaw.

The act of vandalism in late February is the latest sign that anti-Semitism persists in the EU member, even if it mostly rears its ugly head on the internet.

“Twenty years ago I would have said that antiSemitism is on the wane but that’s no longer the case. The old stereotypes are resurfacing,” said Stanislaw Krajewski, a University of Warsaw professor and prominent member of the Jewish community.

“Anti-Semitism is still present in Poland. It’s part of the overall climate,” he told AFP.

“But it’s most aggressive on the internet. It doesn’t come up in my day-to-day life,” added Krajewski, who also co-founded an organisation for dialogue with Christians.

For his part, journalist Konstanty Gebert said he had never had cause for concern when walking around Warsaw in his yarmulke.

“Sometimes, very rarely, I get comments. I don’t respond and usually someone else answers for me,” he told AFP.

“In Paris, on the other hand, I was jostled a couple of times by young people. Other passersby just looked away.”

Jews first arrived in Poland in the Middle Ages, and for centuries the country was home to the world’s largest Jewish community.

However, the population was decimated during the Nazi occupation. Six million Poles died during World War II, half of them Jews.

Today, there are only around 8,000 to 12,000 Jews

living in Poland, according to estimates. - Tension with Israel -

Tensions have flared recently between Israel and Poland.

Last year, Warsaw passed a law that made it illegal to accuse the Polish nation or state of complicity in Nazi German crimes.

The move sparked an outcry from Israel, which sees it as an attempt to ban testimonials on Polish crimes against Jews. In response, Warsaw amended the law to remove the possibility of fines or a prison sentence.