Marek Jurek, a senior Polish politician and former speaker in the Polish Parliament, has called for the Polish Government to take legal action against London-based Polish Film Director Aro Korol for his planned film – “Hitler’s Daughter” – which exposes the worrying levels of anti-Semitism in Poland, and Europe, today.
Mr. Jurek – a former member of the Law and Justice party – called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, to intervene, claiming that:
“Such behaviour [i.e. producing such a film] should not only be met with severe political reaction, but also legal steps, to prevent unpunished insults addressed at Polish institutions at an international audience”.
In the opinion of Mr Jurek and his political allies, Mr. Korol should be prosecuted for his activity, which – in their view – is of criminal nature.
In July 2009, a promo reel of “Hitler’s Daughter” was presented at the Galway Film Fair and subsequently posted on the film’s website. The film – currently in production – explores the rise in anti-Semitic movements in Poland and across Europe. The promo reel created a media frenzy in Poland, making the headlines of major Polish press titles and remained one of the hottest topics on numerous internet portals. Articles were also published in Hungary, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic. Mr. Korol became the object of numerous attacks (some of them anti-Semitic). One person even went so far as to say he wished Mr. Korol would die, while another said: “Leave Poland alone, you Jew, or we’ll cut your hands off.”
Watch the promo reel:
Our guest writer is Lidia Wieczorek
UPDATE 22.09
After a commenter pointed out that there is only one MP featured in the article above we changed the headline to the singular. There is a second politician implicated in this story and Left Foot Forward will be following up.
14 Responses to “Polish politician attempts to suppress film exposing country’s anti-Semitic issues”
FYI
Anti-Semitism is extremely wrong. Jumping to assumptions of anti-Semitism without checking the facts is also wrong.
I hope you do stories about false allegations of anti-Semitism and the use of allegations anti-Semitism for sensationalist purposes.
Still, this goon Jurek thinks the documentary on anti-Semitism is slanderous and is calling for legal action and/or a foreign ministry complaint. Is that enough evidence for us to allege that he is an anti-Semite?
If I called you or your community anti-Semitic and you didn’t think that was fair, what would you have the right to do about it?
Surely, journalists aren’t meant to believe everything they hear, just because its calling someone or something an anti-Semite?
What is this website’s view on Israel and the PLO by the way? Is there any anti-Semitism in the Gaza Strip? Do you criticise that, too?
willstraw
FYI,
First let me concede that Marek Jurek is no longer a member of parliament although he remains an active politician as the head of the Right of the Republic party. Other MPs are implicated and we will write more about it in the next few days.
Will
In answer to your other points:
1) Neither Lidia nor I have asserted that Marek Jurek is an anti-Semite. There are four references to anti-Semitism in the article, none associated with Jurek.
2) Anti-Semitism is rife in Poland as you concede. We are a progressive website and when I was approached to run a piece about this episode I was happy to bring the issue to light.
I hope that clears things up.
Best wishes,
Will
FYI
This is fine, but you have to change your title for a second time. The clause “Senior Polish MP” is inaccurate. “Former Polish MP” would be accurate.
And please decide what the story is here. Are you saying Jurek thinks the allegations in the film are unprofessional and sensationalist journalism, inaccurate or unrepresentative of the facts, and that he wants to protest that? Or are you saying that he is in denial that anti-Semitism exists and he wants to whitewash antisemitism?
Lets be precise. I said: “We know there is antisemitism in Poland as there is everywhere, but prejudice is wrong in all its forms.” I did not say “Anti-Semitism is rife in Poland”. That would be a generalization and one should look at the facts. Radio Maryja is bigoted, and so are several British media outlets. To take one outlet as an example of a national characteristic is somewhat prejudicial.
I support your good intentions. But please remember that we fight anti-Semitism more effectively if we fight it truthfully, precisely, fairly and accurately.
FYI
You still have the mistake in your lede.
In accordance with professional journalistic ethics, and according to the guidance around European libel laws, you still need to give the individual you name the opportunity to reply to the allegations in your article. This will make the article both more compelling and it will also protect you from the threat of litigation.
FYI
According to the Wikipedia entry for Anna Sobecka, she is not an MP. If that page is accurate, you need to correct your UPDATE 22.9 – I think that would be the 5th correction to this article.
Please improve your accuracy and please refrain from prejudice.