Polish MP Konrad Berkowicz displayed a doctored Israeli flag featuring a swastika during a parliamentary session, prompting condemnation from the Foreign Ministry and international officials.
Foreign Ministry Condemns Gesture
Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned MP Konrad Berkowicz’s use of the swastika symbol on an Israeli flag. The ministry stated that his actions were “reprehensible and unacceptable,” and that criticism of Israeli regional policy does not justify such a gesture.
The ministry emphasized that the act is deeply offensive not only to Jews and Israelis but to all who hold the memory of the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes as central to their identity.
Berkowicz’s Remarks and Display
During a Tuesday session of the Sejm, MP Konrad Berkowicz accused Israel of using banned white phosphorus bombs and attacking civilians in the context of the Middle East conflict. He also stated that Israel was committing “genocide” and referred to it as the “new Third Reich.”
Berkowicz then displayed a printed image of the altered Israeli flag, replacing the Star of David with a swastika, asserting that this is how the Israeli flag should look.
Sejm and International Reactions
The Sejm Chancellery, on behalf of Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty, also condemned Berkowicz’s behavior and announced a motion for disciplinary action. Legal services are also examining potential criminal charges.
U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose expressed outrage, stating, “Shame on you, shame on you, shame on you! Perhaps you’ve noticed that we Jews are no longer so easy to trample on, right? We defend ourselves with all our might, without apology – we stand with our friends and know how to fight and defeat our enemies!”
The Israeli Embassy in Poland also strongly condemned the “antisemitic horror” in the Polish parliament, noting the incident occurred on Israel’s official Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Ha-Szoa).
Yom Ha-Szoa Observance
Tuesday marked Yom Ha-Szoa, Israel’s Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust, a date chosen due to its proximity to the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April 19, 1943).
