A controversial Polish priest reportedly bashed Jews over a potential government compensation deal on confiscated property.
Tadeusz Rydzyk, a Roman Catholic priest and the owner of Radio Maryja, which has a history of broadcasting anti-Semitic sentiments, is reported to have said in a recording obtained by the Polish magazine Wprost: “You know what this is about: Poland giving [the Jews] $65 billion. They will come to you and say, ‘Give me your coat! Take off your trousers! Give me your shoes!’ “
Poland has been struggling for a decade to enact a compensation law for Poles who had property taken by the Nazis and then the communists. Jews are expected to account for 20 percent of the claims.
Rydzyk has been sanctioned in the past by the Vatican and the Polish Catholic Church for his behavior, which has included airing commentaries in which Jews were accused of conducting “Holocaust business.” Nonetheless, Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski was among 150,000 people who attended a Mass on Sunday in honor of Radio Maryja’s 15th anniversary.
Kaczynski’s office has strongly condemned Rydzyk’s reported comments.
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