Polish Nationalists Use Anti-Semitic Rhetoric At New York Protest

Polish nationalists protest a Holocaust restitution bill in New York City. Image by Molly Crabapple/Twitter

By Josefin Dolsten April 3, 2019

NEW YORK (JTA) — Polish nationalists protested in New York City against a bill designed to help Holocaust survivors and their descendants reclaim lost property in Poland.

Hundreds of people participated in the protest on Sunday in Foley Square and some employed anti-Semitic rhetoric. One protester held a sign calling to the “stop Holocaust industry,” while others questioned how many Polish Jews were killed during World War II, according to author Molly Crabapple, who posted photos from the event on Twitter.

Polish nationalists held signs saying “stop the holocaust industry” and accusing Jews of welcoming Nazi and Soviet invasions pic.twitter.com/pGeMCP4SmH

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— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) March 31, 2019

One protestor told Crabapple that the Jews of Warsaw were “mostly killed by other Jews.”

They were protesting a law, which President Trump signed last year, called the Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today Act.

The measure requires the State Department to report on how certain European countries have progressed in returning wrongfully confiscated or transferred Holocaust-era assets. It does not mention Poland specifically, but Poland is the only European country that has not passed laws to compensate those who lost their property and other assets during World War II.

Last year, the Polish Senate passed legislation that criminalizes accusing the Polish state of the crimes committed by the Germans during World War II.

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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