Polish community leaders have expressed outrage at the Australian speaking tour of an “extremist” radio presenter who claims Jewish Holocaust victims are “outmanoeuvring and stealing” $65 billion from the Polish people.
Stanisław Michalkiewicz’s tour of mostly Polish churches and communal halls around Australia and New Zealand is organised by Nasza Polonia, a conservative Polish diaspora group that its organisers say has received money from the Polish government in the past.
Aleksander Gancarz, president of the Australian Institute of Polish Affairs, who has sent a letter to Polish community groups urging them to denounce Michalkiewicz, told The Australian his organisation was shocked and alarmed at the “highly provocative” visit.
“Michalkiewicz’s past public statements breach the boundaries of the common moral code and civility. They are extreme and offensive, especially to the Jewish community,” Mr Gancarz said.
Michalkiewicz is facing legal action in Poland for equating a sexual abuse victim, who was raped by a Catholic priest when she was 13, to a prostitute for being awarded 1 million zloty ($365,000) in compensation, to be paid by the Catholic Church.
Radio Maryja, the Polish Catholic-owned station for which Michalkiewicz works, has drawn condemnation from the Vatican over his comments on Jewish compensation claims.
Read the article by Elias Visontay & Nicholas Adams-Dzierzba in The Australian.