Pole who burned effigy of Jew will sue those who called him anti-Semitic
Piotr Rybak to take legal action against Jewish leaders in Polish city of Wroclaw who criticised his stunt as racist
A Polish man sentenced to prison for burning an effigy of a Charedi Jew said he will sue the leaders of the Wroclaw Jewish community for publicly naming him an anti-Semite.
Piotr Rybak burned the effigy during a 2015 demonstration in Wroclaw against accepting refugees in Poland. An appeals court reduced his prison sentence to three months after a Wroclaw court had sentenced him to 10 months. He later explained that it was meant to represent George Soros, the Hungarian-Jewish billionaire and philanthropist who has advocated for a common European asylum policy.
Rybak said he will name Aleksander Gleichgewicht and Rafał Dutkiewicz, the chairman and president, respectively, of the Wroclaw Jewish community in his lawsuit.
“With my lawyers we are already considering how to sue Dutkiewicz and Gleichgewicht, who called me a fascist, anti-Semite and stinking nationalist,” he said after leaving an appeals court Tuesday.
The appeals court ordered the Wroclaw court to reconsider his request to serve his penalty under house arrest with an electronic surveillance system after rejecting it.
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.






















