Unidentified vandals defaced two Jewish sites in Dolka, Poland, over the weekend, spray-painting anti-Israel slurs and Nazi swastikas on the remains of a local synagogue and a memorial at the Jewish cemetery.
The synagogue, located in southeast Poland, was destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, while the cemetery’s memorial, built in recent years by townspeople, symbolizes pre-Holocaust coexistence between Poles and Jews.
The vandalism likely stems from controversial remarks by Polish European Parliament member Grzegorz Braun at an annual ceremony in Jedwabne alongside Poland’s Chief Rabbi, Michael Schudrich. Braun claimed the Auschwitz gas chambers were fabricated, prompting outrage.
Dolka residents condemned the vandalism, expressing deep shock at the hateful acts and reaffirming their commitment to dialogue with the Jewish community, noting such actions hinder reconciliation efforts.
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Meir Bulka, chairman of J-nerations, an organization preserving Jewish heritage in Poland, condemned the incident. “Poland stands at a crossroads and must confront this hatred immediately,” he said. “Last Thursday, we saw history distorted as a Polish parliamentarian blatantly denied the Holocaust, receiving applause from a mob.”
Bulka urged Poland’s new president and prime minister to act swiftly against Holocaust denial and attacks on Jewish memory, warning that the country’s fertile ground for antisemitism and xenophobia fuels such violence. He noted that Poland’s Jewish population is now a mere handful, vulnerable to these attacks.