Jewish students protest outside accused Nazi war criminal's Queens home
According to the organizers of the protest, Palij entered the US in 1949 claiming he was a farmer during the war.
By REUTERSUpdated: APRIL 25, 2017 13:29Protesters gather outside the New York , US home of an accused Nazi war criminal on April 24, 2017
Student protesters gathered outside of accused Nazi camp guard Jakiw Palij in New York on Monday (April 24) calling on the US government to extradite him for war crimes.The protest was organized by Rambam Mesivta high school and its dean Zev Friedman. The event was timed to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day."We're teaching the next generation the importance of remembrance, which is for Holocaust Remembrance Day. It's an obligation on all people to remember the tragedy that took place in the past so history does not repeat itself. We are specifically rallying outside the home of this Nazi murderer who killed 6,000 people during World War II to let him know we did not forget and to send a message to the world that he does not belong in the United States," said Friedman.In 2004, a US judge ordered Palij deported, finding him guilty of being a guard at an SS forced Labor camp called Trawniki in Poland.In 1943, 6,000 Jewish inmates were killed at the camp as part of the operation, "Harvest Festival."According to the organizers of the protest, Palij entered the US in 1949 claiming he was a farmer during the war."He still lives freely in this house, can walk the streets like a free person. And he's been ordered to be extradited from this country and yet he's still here and no country will take him. I think it's a complete injustice," said Sammy Bergman, teacher at Rambam Mesivta.In 2003 a judge ruled Palij was a former Nazi camp guard and stripped him of his US citizenship. But so far no country has agreed to accept him.