Press freedom dispute on Polish ‘anti-Semitism’ settled
Allegations of Poland’s historical anti-Semitism can be made freely in newspapers, the press regulator has said, after a reader’s letter provoked a huge row in Northern Ireland.
The ruling, from the Independent Press Standards Organisation, was welcomed by Gail Walker, editor of the Belfast Telegraph, whose publication had printed the original comments.
The row broke out when a local politician wrote about Nazi flags flying in Carrickfergus, noting he had recently visited “Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland”.
Polish Ambassador Witold Sobkow wrote to the newspaper, pointing out that “Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany and the USSR,” but this prompted a response from an academic with links to the Dublin Jewish Museum, who accused Poland of “deeply entrenched anti-Semitism”.
Dr Kevin McCarthy, of Kinsale, Co. Cork, wrote: “The Nazis knew that Poland, with its deeply entrenched anti-Semitism, was arguably the only place under its control that would accept such an extermination centre.”
He detailed a “pogrom of brutal proportions” in the Polish town of Kielce in 1946, when 42 Jews were killed, many of whom had survived the Shoah “This innate anti-Semitic world view was ultimately why the Nazis located extermination centres in Poland.”
The IPSO ruled this week that the Belfast Telegraph had not breached the Editors’ Code in publishing McCarthy’s views. “This reflects the – surely common-sense – position that editors don’t agree with every opinion that appears in their letters page, or, indeed, any other page,” said Walker.
“It also underscores newspapers’ vital role in identifying comment, conjecture and fact – and the right of a free press to publish all three.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
