Israeli Teen Arrested and Fined for Nazi Salute at Auschwitz
A 17-year-old Israeli high school student was arrested and fined for performing a Nazi salute during a school trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
The teenager, from Kiryat Bialik, was detained by Polish police after security guards witnessed him making the offensive gesture in front of the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign at the entrance of the former Nazi camp.
Following the incident, the student was questioned by police for two hours and fined approximately $411 (NIS 1,500) for propagating Nazism, a crime in Poland that carries a potential prison sentence of up to three years.
The act was captured on security cameras at the Auschwitz museum, and the footage was provided to authorities as evidence.
A spokesperson for the police in Oświęcim, the town where Auschwitz is located, confirmed that the teenager admitted to performing the salute and accepted the punishment voluntarily.
The Israeli Ministry of Education strongly condemned the student’s actions, describing his behavior as “completely unacceptable” and contrary to the values of Israeli education. The ministry announced that the student would face disciplinary measures upon his return to Israel.
This incident is not the first of its kind at Auschwitz. In 2022, a Dutch woman was fined for making a fascist salute at the site, claiming it was a “silly joke” while posing for a photo. Similarly, in 2018, another Israeli teenager was fined for urinating on a memorial at the camp.
Auschwitz, established by Nazi Germany in 1940, was the site where at least 1.3 million people, primarily Jews, were murdered during the Holocaust. Today, it serves as a major historical site and memorial, attracting millions of visitors annually, including many from Israel.
The incident has sparked outrage and serves as a reminder of the importance of respecting the memory of the victims and the solemnity of such historical sites.
