Polish police detain 5 football fans for unfurling large anti-Semitic banner at match

[sabra]

Source: CP

WARSAW, Poland — Polish police said Friday that they have detained five football fans suspected of displaying large anti-Semitic banners at a match in southern Poland last weekend.

The banners were unfurled by fans of Resovia Rzeszow during a match Saturday against local rival Stala Rzeszow. One depicted a caricatured man with a large hooked nose wearing a yarmulke, a Jewish skullcap, in the blue-and-white colours of the opposing team. A second large banner read: "Death to the Hooked Noses."

Police say in a statement that they detained five Rzeszow residents and charged two of them under a law banning public incitement against ethnic or religious groups.

The Anti-Defamation League, a U.S. group that fights anti-Semitism, condemned the incident earlier this week. It said it was especially troubling given that only 700 of the 15,000 Jews who lived in Rzeszow before World War II survived the death camps that Nazi Germany set up on Polish soil.

"Jews were starved and executed in Rzeszow's ghetto, which was later transformed into a concentration camp for the region," the group said. "Some were sent to nearby death camps, while others were shot in the forest. Calling for death to Jews on the same spot cannot go unpunished."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iVmYYS1NkC0diGCLLqA6dKRYxcHg

[midnight]

1. Something tells me this is not an act by Polish citizens, but an act by those

inciting unrest and chaos. All one has to do is remember that it was the Polish people who stood with the Jews during world war two.... And those camps were filled with many Polish citizens that would not embrace the policies that were being used against the Jews... I hope in the weeks to follow that the lead gets blown off this incident.

[cyr330]

2. Mmmm.

Actually the Polish people have been known for centuries for their vehement anti-Semitism. Poland was picked as the site for the most notorious of the killing factories, because the Germans knew that the Poles wouldn't make much of a fuss about it. After the war, when survivors went back to their hometowns, there were revolts in which Poles killed the surviving Jews, because they were afraid the Jews would ask for their property back.

In 1982 when Poland was under Communist regime, a poll was taken to see what the public's perception of the financial crisis was-- yep-- they said it was the fault of JEWS. . .

[Rebubula]

3. Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is rife with racism and antisemitism JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD.

[Chef Eric]

4. Something tells me that we haven't read the same history books. nt

[proteus_lives]

5. Poland is also filled with the opposite.

And there were a lot of Polish camp guards and trustees. Hatred of Jews has always been very powerful in Poland.

[Journeyman]

6. You may wish to view "Shoah" to gain a better understanding of Polish complicity. . .

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090015/

[leftynyc]

8. What history books are you reading?

Or is your post snark?

[dflprincess]

10. I think you're confusing Poland with Denmark

Denmark was the only occupied country where most of the population stood up for and protected Jews - and did so publicly as well as with the underground.

[Codeine]

11. Poland is virulently anti-Semitic.

The Poles who stood by the Jews were few and remarkable.

[izquierdista]

14. Yes, Casimir the Great was quite remarkable

You might want to learn a little Polish history before next you want to flaunt your ignorance. Here's a start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_III_the_Great

What uneducated people never ask is "how did Jews end up where they did"? That requires learning some history. Just like the Vandals and the Bulgars, Jews did a lot of wandering over the western part of the Eurasian continent, and ended up in a place where they could thrive -- Poland. It was certainly better there than the treatment they got in many other nations (i.e., Spain, Russia).

That's not to say they didn't run into small-minded xenophobes. In fact, every culture has its share of small minded xenophobes, and as far as Poland goes, Rzeszow and the surrounding wojewodstwo of Podkarpackie is like the Arizona of Poland. You should see how they treat the Ukrainians crossing the border from the east. Gov. Brewer and Sheriff Arpaio could get some ideas from them.

And so could you. If you actually went there and saw for yourself, you might not be given to making such a Palin type assertion.

[Codeine]

15. We're going back to the 14th century?

And here I thought we were discussing Poles who stood by Jews in the Second World War.

http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/data.show.php?di=record&da=encyclopedia&ke=107

[David__77]

12. Oh yes, because Poles are all filled with adamant opposition to racism?

Lol... too much. It is perhaps the most right-wing, backward country of all Europe. It produced outstanding people like Rosa Luxemberg, and there were thousands of heroic anti-fascist partisans, but Poland is a cesspool of reaction.

[LeftishBrit]

13. Of course, there were many good Polish citizens - but there was also a lot of antisemitism in Poland

(My Jewish ancestors didn't leave Poland just because they thought that the view might be prettier elsewhere.)

And it hasn't disappeared as much as it might.There is still a significant far-right-wing in Poland, some of whom are decidenly antisemitic. Recent surveys suggest that Poland and Hungary suffer from more antisemitism than many other Europaean countries.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[pampango]

9. Right wing extremists in Poland - from Deutsche Welle.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1921525,00.html

Polish right-wing extremists can exert -- at least through the back door -- more and more political influence. Militant organizations such as "Blood & Honor" and "Combat 18" cooperate with right-wing extremist parties like the "National Rebirth of Poland" and the "Polish National Party."

"All Polish Youth," a junior organization of the arch-conservative party "League of Polish Families," which tolerates the minority cabinet of Prime Minister Marcinkiewicz in the Polish parliament, appears meanwhile to be just as dangerous.

"This organization is generally referred to as chauvinistic and one that spreads hate," Purski said. "If we just consider the fact that members of this organization who today sit in the Polish parliament have saluted with 'Heil Hitler,' then we have to realize that we're dealing with a very dangerous phenomenon."

The election victory of the Polish National Conservatives has also provided fresh impetus for the right-wing extremist groups. Recently, the police turned a blind eye when a gang of thugs belonging to the "All Polish Youth" set upon a demonstration of gays and lesbians in the city of Poznan. In Warsaw, meanwhile, the right-wing demonstrators disrupting a Christopher Street Day parade were known to have close ties with then Mayor and current State President Lech Kaczynski."

[ChangoLoa]

16. Poland oh Poland... nt

[boppers]

17. Their Faux News:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Maryja

Very odd place, the Poland of the 21st century.

[ChangoLoa]

18. Ave Maria purissima... nt