The Parliamentary Tribunal yesterday returned a verdict in favor of Dr. Joshua Thon, president of the Jewish Parliamentary Club who was sued by Deputy Arciszewski, # leader of the anti-Semitic National Democratic (Endek) Party, whom Dr. Thon publicly denounced as a “liar” in the lobby of the Polish Parliament.
The incident between Dr. Thon and Deputy Arciszewski followed a speech delivered by Dr. Thon before the Polish Parliament in which he complained that the Jewish population is suffering from the heavy taxation imposed upon it to cover the government budget, including the military expenses. Deputy Arciszewski upon later meeting Dr. Thon in the lobby accused him in strong language of “disclosing Polish military secrets.” Dr. Thon retorted that Arciszewski’s allegations “are a mean lie.”
In its verdict yesterday the Tribunal found that:
1. Dr. Thon was justified in making his statements to the Parliament, and the objections to his statements made by the National Democrats were not warranted.
2. Deputy Arciszewski overstepped his bounds in using denunciatory language against Dr. Thon for his Parliamentary speech.
3. Dr. Thon was not, however, justified in labeling Arciszweski’s speech as a “mean lie.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
