Protesters Call For Ouster Of Reputed Nazi War Criminal Living In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Repeatedly chanting "kick him out!", demonstrators gathered outside the Queens home of reputed Nazi war criminal Jakiw Palij on Sunday.
Palij worked as an armed guard at an SS slave labor camp for Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II and helped keep prisoners from escaping, according to court documents. He has denied the accusations.
As 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported, Palij has been stripped of his U.S. citizenship, but the government has been unable to deport him.
Protesters Call For Ouster Of Reputed Nazi War Criminal Living In Queens
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, told a group of protesters Sunday that more must be done to get Palij out of the country.
"He is responsible for the murder of at least 6,000 Jews at a notorious Nazi camp," Hikind said.
"He lives in our community. That is unacceptable."
Hikind said Palij entered the United States by telling immigration officials he was a farmer.
"We found out that was a lie -- that he worked at a concentration camp, that he participated in mass murder," Hikind told Stern. "We've tried to get rid of him. Nobody wants to take him. We've got to do everything in the world to make sure that justice happens."
The demonstration was timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, which marked the beginning of the Nazi extermination of six million Jews.
One of Palij's neighbors said the protesters are going too far.
"They need to leave the man alone," a woman said. "They don't know him. They weren't there when this happened. Yes, it was a terrible tragedy, but they need to teach their children to make sure it never happens again."
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