Following the anti-Semitic banners at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Warsaw, the Warsaw Medical University (WUM) condemned all manifestations of intolerance, aggression and particularly acts of terrorism.

‘We instil in our students the academic values of respect, tolerance, renunciation of hatred and unethical attitudes”, reads the University’s statement.

It stressed that any violations of these principles will be taken very seriously and referred to the disciplinary ombudsman, and such action has already been taken against some students. The statement said that students affected by the crisis in the Middle East can expect psychological support.

Last Saturday, a march passed through the streets of Warsaw, with participants protesting against the intervention in Gaza following the attack on Israel. The demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and banners with the slogans: “Stop the genocide of the Palestinians”, “Free Palestine”, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

One photo from the event shows a woman carrying a banner with the words ‘keep the world clean’ and a drawn rubbish bin with an Israeli flag inside. As the Twitter feed Visegrad 24 has established, the woman in the photograph is Marie Andersen, a Norwegian from Oslo, a fifth-year student at WUM and privately married to a Jordanian. Visegrad 24 indicates that the woman has been actively posting anti-Semitic content on social media.

In a statement published on social media, Marie Andersen claims that “the meaning of the banner she expressed in an interview conducted during the protest” and that the media “twisted her intentions”. “I sincerely apologise to anyone who was hurt or offended by this situation”, wrote Andersen.

The anti-Semitic slogans at the march were explicitly condemned by representatives of the Polish authorities.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński