Controversial Netanyahu Posters in Otwock Condemned as Polish-Israeli Organization Intervenes

Posters depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Nazi-style uniform appeared in Otwock, prompting a swift intervention by a Polish-Israeli cultural association and their subsequent removal by municipal authorities.

Posters Depicting Netanyahu Appear in Otwock

In recent days, posters featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a uniform resembling a Nazi one appeared in Otwock in the Masovian Voivodeship. Concurrently, an armband featuring the Star of David was placed on the uniform in place of a swastika, referencing armbands Jews were forced to wear by the Germans after the outbreak of World War II.

The posters also featured the inscriptions “Übermenschen” (Supermen) and “Israel is committing genocide in Palestine. The crimes are led by Benjamin Netanyahu.” It remains unknown who hung these materials in the city.

Polish-Israeli Association Condemns Nazi Symbolism

The Aleksa Dancyg Polish-Israeli Cultural Cooperation Association sent a letter regarding the posters to the authorities of Otwock last week. The association’s head, Zvi Henryk Kelner, stated that while political criticism of the Israeli government is acceptable in a democracy, utilizing Nazi symbolism and replacing the swastika with the Star of David crosses the boundaries of fair political debate.

Kelner recalled that the German occupation led to the annihilation of almost the entire Jewish community of Otwock, and emphasized that the town’s ongoing care for the memory of its Jewish residents means taking responsibility for how symbols related to the history of the Holocaust are used in public space.

Municipal Authorities Remove the Materials

The press office of the Otwock town hall informed Rzeczpospolita that the city took immediate action on the day the offensive posters appeared, and appropriate services removed the subject materials within their scope of competence.

Surveillance footage from the day of the incident was also secured. The municipality stressed that the city of Otwock has not and firmly does not give consent to the exposure of such materials on publicly accessible advertising pillars.

UNICEF Reports on Casualties and Conditions in Gaza

At least 300 children have died in the Gaza Strip within 300 days of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas taking effect, UNICEF reported last week, noting that hundreds more have been injured, many severely. UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Director Edouard Beigbeder noted that families are currently crowded into about one-third of the Gaza Strip amid ruins and waste, suffering from severe malnutrition, disease, and a lack of safe water.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing Gaza medical authorities, noted that 1,200 people have been killed and 3,943 injured since the ceasefire announcement on October 10 of last year. Meanwhile, Israel maintains that its ongoing attacks target exclusively militants threatening Israeli forces, participants in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, and those violating ceasefire terms.