The president of the European Parliament officially sanctioned a parliamentarian who published an anti-Semitic pamphlet with the Parliament’s logo. Last month Maciej Giertych, a Polish member of the European Parliament and former head of the Catholic-based political party League of Polish Families, released the 32-page “Civilizations at War in Europe,” which characterizes Jews as a money-driven group doomed to separateness and questionable ethical behavior. Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering reprimanded Giertych, 70, for violating the legislative body’s rules of respect and tolerance. At Parliament headquarters in Strasbourg, Poettering told representatives that he “deeply regretted what is objectively a serious breach of the fundamental rights, and in particular the dignity, of human beings to which our institution so strongly adheres.” The reprimand is the first possible step invoked by Poettering according to Parliament rules of procedure. Further steps could include suspending Giertych’s subsistence allowance or from his duties, including voting.
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