Jews in the Czech city of Pilsen will hold a vigil outside the Great Synagogue, where a far-right group plans to march.
Jiri Danicek from the Czech Federation of Jewish Communities said the aim of the extremist march, announced as “a protest for the freedom of speech,” is to offend Holocaust victims and survivors, according the Czech news site, Idnes.cz
The extremists’ march is scheduled for Jan. 19, one day before the 66th anniversary of the first transport of Jews from Pilsen to the Terezin concentration camp. Out of 2,605 Jews on the transport, only 112 survived.
Vaclav Bures, organizer of the far-right demonstration, said the march date is a coincidence. Bures, who Czech media accuse of being a neo-Nazi, said the march is a reaction to the Czech police’s prevention of a neo-Nazi demonstration in Prague’s Jewish Quarter in November.
Some 150 marchers are expected as part of the far-right demonstration in Pilsen, while many hundreds of Jews and their supporters are likely to appear at the commemoration in front of the synagogue.
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