Outrageous comparison. Shapira
Photo: Meir Azulay
Refresh his memory. Flug
Photo: Sasson Tiram
Shoah survivors slam Warsaw Ghetto vandal
Survivors say leftist ex-pilot who sprayed graffiti in Poland should 'refresh memory at Yad Vashem'
Holocaust survivors living in Israel are fuming over the graffiti slogans sprayed on the walls of Warsaw Ghetto by left wing activist Yonatan Shapira on Sunday.
Shapira, a former pilot in the Israeli Air Force, sprayed slogans reading "Free Gaza and Palestine" and "Free all Ghettos," while documenting his actions on video.
Chairman of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors, Noah Flug, appealed on Tuesday to the Polish police, asking them to launch a criminal investigation on the matter.
"Yonatan Shapira and his ilk disrespect the Holocaust and its heritage. His actions harm the commemoration of the Holocaust and hurt the feelings of the survivors and the memory of the victims, including his family members who were murdered by the Nazis," said Flug.
Flug handed the request to the Polish embassy in Israel, in which the center also requests to open an investigation against Shapira's Polish counterpart, who was shown assisting him on the video. The two waved Palestinian flags on the Ghetto wall, which symbolizes Jewish heroism during the Holocaust.
"Shapira's attempt to compare the Warsaw Ghetto, from which Jews were transferred to extermination camps, to Gaza – is sad and outragous," he added.
"Regrettably, such actions serve as inflammatory material for those who desire the annihilation of the Jewish people. I would recommend Shapira to visit Yad Vashem refresh his memory; he should understand that those who compare the Warsaw Ghetto to the Gaza Strip are in the same category as Holocaust deniers.
"I am convinced Shapira's family members, who have lost their lives during the Second World War, would have not been able to live with the outrageous comparison made by their young loved one," said Flug.
