Jewish men dance with a fire extinguisher in video poking fun at anti-Semitic Polish MP Grzegorz Braun who put out Hanukkah candles – as his supporters raise £14,000 after stunt triggered outrage 

• Polish MP Grzegorz Braun was thrown out of Parliament for stunt yesterday
• A video of Jewish men dancing and mocking him with an extinguisher went viral 

A Polish politician who angrily sprayed a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles inside Poland’s parliament building yesterday has been ruthlessly mocked by the Jewish community in the city of Lodz.

In a video clip shared on social media, a group of Jewish men in high spirits are seen holding a fire extinguisher aloft and passing it to one another as they danced, laughing and poking fun Grzegorz Braun’s stunt yesterday. 

The atmosphere was jovial, with onlookers clapping and moving along to traditional Jewish music, before one participant feigned outrage and jokingly enacted throwing the fire extinguisher at the camera. 

The footage has racked up hundreds of thousands of views amid the outcry at Braun, who has been widely criticised for the anti-Semitic act after he described the Hanukkah as ‘satanic’ and said he was restoring ‘normality’ by extinguishing the candles. 

The right-wing, pro-Russian member of Poland’s Confederation party was thrown out of Poland’s Sejm after ripping the red extinguisher from the wall of the government building and blasting the menorah, filling the air with a lingering haze.

But supporters of the lawmaker leapt to his defence, with an online fundraiser drumming up more than £14,000 after the MP was docked six months of salary, plus another three months of half salary, for his actions. 

A lawyer representing Braun who organised the fundraising drive posted on Twitter: ‘The Sejm should only use Polish symbols and it is not a place of religious worship.’

In a video clip shared on social media, a group of Jewish men in high spirits are seen holding a fire extinguisher aloft and passing it to one another as they danced

The atmosphere was jovial, with onlookers clapping and moving along to traditional Jewish music

Shocking footage shows Braun putting out the candles on a menorah that was lit for Hanukkah while filling the air with a lingering haze

Grzegorz Braun, a member of the far-right Confederation party, is covered in fire extinguisher debris after using it to put out candles on a menorah

Video shows Grzegorz Braun ripping the red extinguisher from the wall of Poland’s Sejm building and marching towards the display celebrating the Jewish holiday

Seconds later, a female official desperately tries to the fire extinguisher from Braun’s hands – only for the far-right MP to blast her in the face with the white power

A female official who desperately tried to grab the fire extinguisher from Braun’s hands had to receive medical attention after the lawmaker sprayed the extinguisher in her face, in a move labelled ‘absolutely scandalous’ by other MPs. 

But asked just after the incident if he was ashamed of his actions, Braun scathingly retorted: ‘Those who take part in acts of Satanic worship should be ashamed.’

Who is Grzegorz Braun?

Grzegorz Braun, 56, is a pro-Russian member of Poland’s monarchist Confederation party.

He has in the past falsely claimed that there is a plot to turn Poland into a ‘Jewish state’.

Tomasz Piatek, a Polish investigative journalist who has researched Braun, said that Braun ‘presents himself as an enemy of modern Western civilization’ who has also propagated anti-Protestant hatred.

Braun has also called for homosexuality to be criminalised.

He is also known for his anti-American views and is virulently against the EU. 

Braun in the past has claimed that there is a plot to turn Poland into a ‘Jewish state.’ 

All major political forces quickly denounced the stunt carried out by Braun. 

The candles were lit again shortly after Braun left the room.

The speaker of the parliament Szymon Holownia called the act ‘absolutely scandalous’ and excluded him from the day’s parliamentary proceedings. He said he was reporting him to prosecutors. 

‘This should have never happened,’ Holownia said. ‘Poland is home for all religions.

‘There will be no tolerance for racism, xenophobia, antisemitism… as long as I am the speaker of parliament,’ he added.

Rabbi Shalom Ber Stambler, who led the Hanukkah ceremony as he has done for 17 years, said the celebration took place peacefully and finished just before the chaos broke out.

‘He was doing it in a very brutal way,’ Stambler added, speaking of Braun.

He said it felt like Braun wanted to disrupt a day when many people were happy after Poland’s new premier Donald Tusk gave his inaugural speech to parliament.

‘Somebody was trying to destroy it,’ Stambler said. ‘And I think the impact is the opposite. Now there will be even more awareness of how much tolerance is needed, how it is important.’

The shocking footage shows Braun putting out the candles on a menorah that was lit for Hanukkah while filling the air with a lingering haze

Braun is seen placing the fire extinguisher down after putting out the flames, as shocked bystanders and security staff gather round

Grzegorz Braun, far-right Polish lawmaker from Confederation party, walks after using a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles

Security worked to get people away from the scene as powder filled the air

Israel’s ambassador for Poland, Yacov Livne delivers a speech during Hanukkah celebrations at parliament on December 12, before the chaos unfolded

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who was elected yesterday, called Braun’s actions a disgrace and said such an incident should never be repeated

The country’s newly elected prime minister Donald Tusk called Braun’s act a disgrace and said such an incident should never be repeated. 

Tusk gave his inaugural speech to parliament on Tuesday, pledging to demand the Western world keep up its help for Ukraine.

The political veteran also called on Poland’s fractious political class to unite, saying it cannot afford divisions while Russia is waging a war of aggression across the border, a conflict many fear could spread if Moscow prevails.

‘Poland’s task, the new government’s task, but also the task of all of us, is to loudly and firmly demand the full determination from the entire Western community to help Ukraine in this war. 

‘I will do this from day one,’ Tusk said in a session attended by Ukraine’s ambassador and former Polish presidents, including the anti-communist freedom fighter Lech Walesa. 

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