A Polish member of the European Parliament who represents his country’s ruling party has voiced his opposition to the renovation of a synagogue in his city of Poznan, calling it “an openly anti-Polish act,” according to the JTA.

Marcin Libicki, a member of Poland’s governing party Law and Justice, whose article in the January 12th edition of Gazeta Wyborcza voiced his harsh criticism of the reconstitution of a synagogue in Poznan, also called the plan a part of a “Kulturkapf,” or cultural struggle.

Nevertheless, Libicki did not receive any support for his remarks from his home city, and was harshly criticized by both the Poznan city council and Poznan’s archbishop, Stanislaw Gadecki, president of the Polish Episcopal Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue. “I am treating his proposal as a piece of humor” Archbishop Gadecki told the JTA. “I know the authorities see it the same way. No one takes him seriously.”

Libicki’s article relates to the controversial renovation of the “New Synagogue” in Poznan - the original building, constructed in 1907, was gutted by the Nazis during World War Two and converted to a swimming pool, which still exists.

In his opinion piece, Libicki argues that that the renovation of the synagogue would be too costly, and it would be better to demolish the synagogue to uncover its ancient city wall foundations, which could be used as a tourist attraction.

The Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland would like to transform the synagogue into a cultural and educational center, but lacks a private donor to finance the project. Poznan has about 40 members of the local Jewish community.

Libicki’s party, the Law and Justice party currently forms the minority government in Poland, following the parliamentary and presidential elections at the end of last year. The president of Poland Lech Kaczyński is also from this party, formed in 2001.