Polish priest rips Jews on ‘truth’

Representatives of Polish Jews have complained to the state media watchdog about a public broadcaster airing an interview with a priest who said Jews have a unique understanding of the concept of truth.

Henryk Zielinski, editor of the Catholic weekly Idziemy, made the remarks Feb. 24 on TVP, according to the complaint filed by the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland.

Jews have “a completely different system of values, a different concept of truth,” Zielinski said. “For us, the truth corresponds to facts.

“For the Jew, truth means something that conforms to his understanding of what’s beneficial. If a Jew is religious, then truth means something G-d wants.” For nonreligious Jews, he said, “the truth is subjective or whatever serves Israel’s interests.”

Zielinski cited the Haggadah, which contains the story of the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. “Often these stories have nothing to do with facts,” he said.

The interviewer did not contest Zielinski’s assertions, according to the complaint.

Zielinski’s remarks violated National Council of Radio and Television principles for content on public media, including its ban on ideas that “incite to hatred or discriminate on the grounds of race, disability, gender, religion or nationality,” the Jewish union wrote in its complaint.  —JTA