The Auschwitz museum confiscated Israeli flags adorned with yellow ribbons, a symbol of the hostages held in Gaza, from a group of British Jewish visitors. According to a report in the UK-based Jewish newspaper The Jewish Chronicle, the flags were returned at the end of the visit.
A group of 46 Jews, including Rabbi Elchonon Feldman of the Bushey synagogue in Hertfordshire, was shocked by the decision. “The group were really upset and couldn’t understand it. It is really bad in this day and age,” Lawrence Bentley, 76, told the outlet.
Bentley and his wife, Stella, 74, who helped organize the trip alongside the Jewish heritage charity JRoots, said the group tried to explain to Polish security staff that the yellow ribbons represented the hostages in Gaza. However, the staff insisted that adding the ribbon turned the flags into a “political statement” and confiscated them.
A senior security officer who arrived at the scene did not intervene. “He told us, ‘My hands are tied, it is a political statement and that is it,’” the visitors said.
The Bentleys, who had visited Auschwitz twice before, had brought 30 Israeli flags from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where they had been earlier that month. “We knew people would want to wear them. People often wear Israeli flags in the museum,” Bentley said.
One flag, hidden in Bentley’s bag, was not detected during security checks. He later revealed it inside the museum. “When we were in Auschwitz, we all gathered in a huddle with the flag and sang. I had to show the flag surreptitiously so our tour guides did not see it.”
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"We have been saying ‘never again,’ and here we are again, with people committing crimes against Jews and Israelis, just as the Nazis did throughout Europe,” added Bentley. “That’s why we had to remember the hostages on our visit.”
A spokesperson for the Auschwitz museum defended the move, telling The Jewish Chronicle: “Visitors to the Auschwitz Memorial are allowed to bring national flags; however, they must not be altered in any way, such as by adding slogans, symbols or other modifications. Any altered flag is no longer considered a national flag and does not comply with the Memorial's regulations. All visitors agree to these guidelines upon purchasing an entry ticket."
“These regulations have been in place for many years to prevent any attempts to use the Memorial for activities unrelated to its history, which could be perceived as disrespectful to the victims of the German Nazi camp or as an attempt to instrumentalize their suffering in any way. These rules apply to all visitors, regardless of intent or good faith," the statement added.