Responding to the statement by Bishop Rafał Markowski deploring the symbolic lynching of a Jewish effigy in the town of Pruchnik in south-eastern Poland, WJC CEO Robert Singer said that he was “heartened that the Church had taken an unequivocal stand” with respect to this antisemitic incident.
“Jews all over the world look to the Church to continue the struggle against antisemitism pioneered by Pope John Paul II who had called the Jews the older brothers of Christians,” Singer added. “The Church is in a unique position to overcome age-old prejudice and stereotypes. We can only hope that one day a spirit of brotherhood and mutual respect will replace intolerance and hatred in Pruchnik–and that young people will be taught about the horrifying fate of that community’s Jewish inhabitants during the German occupation.”
