New York, NY, August 30, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed support for a bi-partisan initiative from New York State Congressional Representatives to deport a former Nazi guard who has been living in Queens.

The person in question, Mr. Jakiw Palij, allegedly supported the Nazi regime during the Holocaust, serving as a guard at the Trawniki Camp in Poland. Mr. Palij was stripped of his citizenship in 2004, but deportation has so far been delayed and unsuccessful to date, though appeals have been made to the German, Ukrainian and Polish governments.

In response to the letter led by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY), and Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)  calling on Secretary of State Tillerson to intervene in the deportation process, Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York Regional Director, issued the following statement:

We applaud our New York lawmakers for their efforts to ensure justice is served for this perpetrator of war crimes during the Holocaust. It is unacceptable that a known former Nazi, who falsified paperwork to live without citizenship in America will be allowed to remain in New York.

 

As long as accused Nazi war criminals continue to live freely in the United States and evidence can be obtained documenting their participation in war crimes, the interests of justice require active efforts to remove them from the country.

 

Justice must be served, even if it is late, because that is how we show commitment to ‘never again’ and signifies to other victims of genocide, some who have resettled in New York, that war criminals are not welcome here.

ADL expressed appreciation to all the signatories of the letter including Representatives Nita Lowey; Thomas Suozzi; Peter King; Eliot Engel; Adriano Espaillat; Grace Meng; Nydia Velazquez; Lee Zeldin; Kathleen Rice; Jose Serrano; Hakeem Jeffries; Carolyn Maloney; Louise Slaughter; Brian Higgins; Paul Tonko; Yvette Clarke; Gregory Meeks and Sean Patrick Maloney.

The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.  Today it is the world’s leading organization combating anti-Semitism, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes, developing anti-bias curricula for students, countering cyber-hate and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all. Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_NY