EU parliament in row over antisemitic book

A row has erupted over an antisemitic book published by MEP Maciej Giertych with apparent European parliament funding.

The 32-page booklet, entitled ‘Civilisations at war in Europe’, was unveiled in Strasbourg by non-aligned MEP Giertych – who is a former head of the League of Polish Families and the father of Poland’s deputy prime minister, Roman Giertych.

It claims that Jews are “biologically different” from “gentiles”, and “prefer to voluntarily live separately from the communities which surround them”.

“It is a great misunderstanding to consider anti-Semitism as racism,” the pamphlet reads. “The Jews of Poland are racially indistinguishable from the Poles.”

“However, the fact that they stick to their own community, their own civilisation, their own separateness, results in biological differences developing,” it goes on.

The pamphlet clearly appears to have benefited from EU funding, as it has a parliament logo on its cover and carries the usual caveat that the views expressed “do not present the official European parliament position”.

Reacting angrily to the publication, the PES group of socialist MEPs called for an investigation into whether the book did indeed receive EU funding.

“It would be completely unacceptable for public European funding to have contributed to the financing of this book which was published with our assembly’s logo,” said Martin Schulz, leader of the PES group in parliament.

“Our group will demand the reimbursement of any public funding which may have been contributed,” he said.

Socialist MEP Martine Roure added that her group “was shocked by this book which contains declarations contrary to the EU’s values”.

Meanwhile, when asked about the booklet, a commission spokesman told reporters the commission “firmly rejects and condemns any manifestation of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia”.

“The commission is determined to make full use of the powers given to it by the treaties to fight these repugnant phenomena, which are clearly incompatible with the values on which the EU is founded,” he said.

But he added that “of course it is for the parliament to investigate this publication and the issue at stake and to take any steps required”.

Serge Cwaigenbaum, the head of the European Jewish Congress, said his organisation would investigate the legality of the publication.

“It is quite amazing that a member of the European parliament referred to racial theories of the pre-World War II era reflecting empty prejudices and the ugliest anti-Semitic clichés,” he said.

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