Israeli student arrested for Nazi salute at Auschwitz during school trip
THE FRONT GATE of Auschwitz carries the infamous phrase: ‘Arbeit macht frei.’ The writer states: ‘Perhaps we as Jews are less alone in our grief than we may fear.’ (photo credit: KACPER PEMPEL/REUTERS)
An Israeli high school student was arrested and fined for performing a Nazi salute at Auschwitz during a school trip.
The 17-year-old teenager, from Kiryat Bialik, was detained by Polish police after security guards observed him making the gesture in front of the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign at the entrance to the former Nazi concentration camp.
The student was questioned for two hours by the police and was fined approximately $411 (NIS 1,500) for propagating Nazism, a crime in Poland punishable by up to three years in prison.
The incident was captured on security cameras at the Auschwitz museum and evidence was handed over to authorities.
A spokeswoman for the police in Oświęcim, the town where Auschwitz is located, confirmed the teenager admitted to performing the salute and voluntarily accepted the punishment.
She stated that the teenager had been charged with propagating Nazism, which is illegal under Polish law.
The Israeli Ministry of Education condemned the teenager's actions, calling his behaviour "entirely unacceptable" and contrary to the values of Israeli education.
The ministry stated that the student would face disciplinary measures upon his return to Israel.
In a similar incident in 2022, a Dutch woman was fined for performing a fascist salute at Auschwitz, claiming it had been a "silly joke" while posing for a photo.
In 2018, another Israeli teenager was fined for urinating on a memorial at the camp.
Auschwitz, set up by Nazi Germany in 1940, was the site where at least 1.3 million victims, primarily Jews, were murdered. It remains a major historical site and receives millions of visitors each year, including many from Israel.