Rev. Stephen Sizer is no novice in terms of racism.
Engage 2006: The Church is Moral; The People in the Shadows Are Not
My coverage, going back years.
The CST on Sizer.
Betsy Childs’ excellent The Master of Apologies.
Holocaust denial
Gilad Atzmon praises ex-KKKer David Duke
Most literate adults (or at least those with access to the Internet) would probably know to avoid the opinions of David Duke.
Duke, ex-Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, convicted fraudster and semiprofessional antisemite is hardly a reputable source.
Yet the “activist” Gilad Atzmon has a high opinion of Duke:
“…
Now there is something very interesting and it’s again the first time I’m saying it. The left is devastated by David Duke for instance. He was in the KKK when he was young. But here is something quite amazing: I read him and I was shocked to find out that this guy knows more about Jewish identity than I do! How could a supposedly ‘racist’ Gentile who probably never entered a synagogue knows more than I do about Judaism? The reason is in fact very simple : he is a proud white man. He’s interested in nationalism, in the culture of his own people, so he understands things that I am not even allowed to think about. Believe it or not, even as a Jew, I wasn’t allowed to think of myself as a racist. I was a racist, maybe I am still one, but I was not allowed to acknowledge it. Once he acknowledges the he’s talking about white people’s rights, in a way he thinks like Avigdor Lieberma ! But in fact, he is way better than Liberman. David Duke is a humanist because he says, «I want to celebrate my right and you should celebrate your rights» whether you are Muslim or black or whatever. He believes that all people should celebrate their rights, this is his current philosophy. Avidgor Liberman is not a humanist, because he wants to celebrate his rights at the expense of other people.”
Duke hasn’t, really, changed his views over the years, just polished them and tried to drag in the gullible or those seriously hung-up on the existence of Jews.
Bird of a feather flock together?
(H/T: Adam Holland)
Update 1: The SPLC on Former Klan Leader David Duke Expelled From Italy@
“No one wants David Duke.
The former Klansman, Holocaust denier and founder of a series of hate groups was expelled from Italy in early December after a court there deemed him “socially dangerous” for allegedly planning to create a pan-European neo-Nazi group. Duke, who has fled or been expelled from several countries before, was kicked out of Italy this time after a court upheld a finding that he had entered the country on false pretenses by using his middle name, Ernest, in place of his first.”
Update 2: Not forgetting Huff Post Crime’s coverage, David Duke Arrested In Germany, Ex-Klan Leader Faces Deportation:
“Since his release from prison, Duke has traveled and lectured widely, including a 2006 appearance at a Holocaust denial conference in Tehran, Iran. The conference featured numerous speeches denouncing the Holocaust as a “myth.” At the conference, Duke voiced support for discredited, fringe scholars imprisoned in Europe for denying the use of gas chambers against Jews during the Holocaust.
In the United States, Duke continues to speak regularly at gatherings of prominent right-wing groups and writes for Stormfront, a leading white-supremacist website.”
Update 3: Well worth a read, Ron Stallworth, Police Sergeant, Chronicles His Experience As Undercover KKK Member, particularly the slideshow “A day in the life of the KKK”
Ron Stallworth’s blog and his insights make very necessary reading.
Update 4: the SPLC looks at a new David Duke project, Anti-Semitism Illustrated: David Duke Working on New ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’:
“White supremacist David Duke has a new book coming out, of sorts – a repackaged and “illustrated” version of the notorious anti-Semitic hoax, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” But unlike previous editions of the text – all of which attempted to claim that the book was a genuine transcript of a gathering of wealthy Jews who conspired to bring about the enslavement of Western civilization – Duke is taking a different tack.
“The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” Duke now claims, is in fact a work of fiction – which means, he says, that the hoax issue is moot. Instead, as he explains in his promotional video for the book, the text is like all “great literature” – a work of art whose value lies in the greater truths it supposedly reveals about the world. ”
In all likelihood Gilad Atzmon will be endorsing that too!
Update 4: Last year the CST blog exposed Atzmon and some of his friends, Truth Movement – “Stupidest People on the Planet”??
Update 5: The SPLC takes on “Dr. Duke”:
“Former Klansman David Duke has made much of his academic credentials of late. On his website, he repeatedly refers to himself as “Dr.” David Duke, a reference to the supposed Ph.D. he “earned” in 2005 at an anti-Semitic Ukrainian institution described as a “diploma mill” by the State Department. Around the white supremacist world, excited accolades to Duke’s scholarship abound.
As the closest thing the radical right has to an intellectual today, Duke claims to uphold the high standards of academia. His website brims with criticisms of plagiarism — although they come, naturally, in the form of repeated attacks on civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who is characterized as a “world-class plagiarist.” Plagiarism, Duke’s site adds piously, is “theft,” a rip-off that the site suggests amounts to “a serious felony.”
…
Duke, meanwhile, continues to boast of his “Ph.D” — his website, for instance, is now headlined, “The Official Website of Representative David Duke, PhD,” although he hasn’t been a Louisiana state representative for 17 years. As to the Ph.D., well, what Duke actually got at the Ukraine’s Interregional Academy of Personnel Management is a “Kandidat Nauk” degree, which ranks below a full doctorate. It was awarded to Duke for a thesis entitled, “Zionism as a Form of Ethnic Supremacism” and was the second degree given Duke by the university, which had earlier handed the former Klan boss an honorary degree.
Jeremy Bowen, BDS and Obvious Questions
Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s Middle East Editor recently stated:
I feel there are many serious questions that need to be asked about BDS and racism.
I have covered them many times before, but this handy Tumblr draws them together:
Twitter, Storify and how to spot a bigot.
[The above image was taken from one of the numerous antisemitic web sites that support BDS.
How do I know it was antisemitic? Because it rants on about 9/11, blaming Jews, and promotes Holocaust denial. That is how!]
Occupy Wall Street And Open Racism
The Occupy Wall Street movement is not a single organisation, however, that does not excuse the presence of plain and simple antisemitism on related Facebook pages.
This is one example:
A cursory glance across their page reveals other little snippets or links to neo-Nazi material:
The bottom part links to the IHR, infamous Holocaust deniers & wandering antisemites, the other leads to Jew Watch, a hard core antisemitic site run by a neo-Nazi.
This is a small sampling. There is probably much, much more racism further down the page.
Their presence on Facebook is attached this site and the OccupyWallSt Twitter account.
Scary, but their main page has 623,988 likes!
Update 1: New posters should read the Comments Policy and re-read!
Update 2: We should not forget that racism comes in many shapes and intensities, so it is with this Occupy Wall Street Facebook page.
These dog whistles of racism often include a photograph or cartoon which conveys a secondary message.
The one below is suggestive that President Obama is subservient to Jews.
That is a common theme found on many neo-Nazi/hardcore antisemitic web sites. Now it is a point that this Occupy Wall Street Facebook page echoes, more racism by the day.
Update 3: There is an almost hourly link which connects to odd bits of antisemitism or makes sweeping generalizations on this Facebook page. I suggest readers and OWS supporters study that page and learn to spot this form of racism along with its motifs.
The Twitter Parody Of “I’m Not Racist, But…”
Xavier Toby’s piece on Huff Post rings true:
“Here’s one quick way to work out if someone’s racist.
If they say, “I’m not racist, but…”
Then they’re definitely racist.
Really, that phrase should be outlawed.
If it actually worked, nobody would ever again be sent to prison.
In court all they’d have to say is, “I’m not a murderer, but… I accidentally mistook my husband for a knife holder thirty-seven times.”
And the judge would say, “While all the evidence indicates that you’re guilty, you’ve used the “I’m not but” defence. Which we all know is infallible. Therefore, case dismissed. Off ya go tiger. Try not to do it again, ya cheeky scamp.”
The phrase should be, “I am a racist, and…”
For example:
“I am a racist AND I only watch Channel Nine.”
“I am a racist AND I don’t own any bed sheets without eyeholes in them.”
“I am a racist AND I only eat the white marshmallows.”
“I am a racist AND follow me on Twitter @whitesupremacisttoteslol69.”Now just say you suspect a person of being racist, but they’ve cleverly avoiding using the phrase, “I’m not racist, but…”
It’s not uncommon; some racists can be surprisingly crafty.”
Twitter provides a very useful resource around this topic. Almost on a daily basis it is possible to find such talking points, however, they tend to be formed along the lines of “I’m not antisemitic, but…”.
The persistence of open antisemitism on Twitter and the apathy towards combating it, is astonishing. Storify has proven itself by allowing these few examples of overt racism to be documented with relative ease:
Holocaust Denial at Anonymous.
More antisemitism at Anonymous.
Antisemitism at Anonymous Continues Unchecked.
Free Gaza Movement And Racism.
What comes through is a remarkably similar pattern to that highlighted by Xavier Toby. There is a denial of racism, a play on words and a negation of evidence. Anonymous would, in all probability, say “We are not antisemitic, but…”.
Nevertheless, they would fail to explain the racist content of the Anonymous Operations account or the lethargy shown by its 170,000+ followers. Equally, Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement has already tried on those excuses:
”TWEET from the Free Gaza TWITTER account was posted several days ago that had a link to a lecture titled, “Zionists Ran the Holocaust and the Concentration Camps.” This TWEET did not come from Free Gaza, and does not represent FG’s position in any way whatsoever; in fact we condemn its content. It came from Greta’s private Facebook page and was to be shared with a group of people who were discussing propaganda and racism, and this link was an example of the terrible propaganda that could be spewed on websites. For some reason, Facebook connected our Free Gaza account to her personal Facebook account, and the link was posted. Greta has added, “I apologize that I did not watch the video before hitting SHARE on Facebook. I was in a rush to get to a book event and simply reposted. The fault is completely mine. Free Gaza had nothing to do with the post at all. “
But more worrying, it appears that Anonymous and the Free Gaza Movement have reached the stage where they no longer feel the compunction to apologise for racism emanating from their Twitter accounts. In the end, Xavier Toby was right when he said “some racists can be surprisingly crafty.”
Antisemitism, Anonymous And Twitter
Finding antisemitism on Twitter is easy, but it’s surprising how few attempt to stop it, as witnessed by the 170,000 plus followers of the Anonymous Operations account.
Remembering that wherever you find racism, sexism and the degradation of women is often not far behind.
My first storify looks briefly at the issues, Holocaust Denial at Anonymous.
Elsewhere, there is a nice tumblr account which tries to track this form of racism.
Also, the new humourously entitled Zionist Entity blog aims to tackle antisemitism and supports Kestrels.
Finally, Oliver Hotham is blogging and always worth a read.
Golden Dawn’s True Face
History has shown that we ignore the growth of neofacism at our peril. Golden Dawn is but one example of that.
Konstantinos Georgousis’s film on Channel 4 is a a reminder to never underestimate the boldness, stupidity or vileness of neofacists:
Update 1: The JC has a worrying development:
“Leaders of the Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party have announced plans to open nursery schools.
The decision comes after the organisation ran a pilot class at the party’s offices in Artemida last month.
More than 20 children, aged six to 10, were taught “Greek ideals” and mythology in accordance with the ideological values of the third most popular party in Greece.
A spokesperson described the class as a “national awakening” on the party’s official website. Educators across the globe have drawn comparisons to indoctrination methods used by the Nazis. “
The BNP Congratulates Neo-Nazis in Greece
Anyone pretending that the British National Party were merely a bunch of concerned citizens, rather than hardcore neofascists, will have to do a lot of explaining.
The BNP’s web site can be seen applauding a Golden Dawn rally and droning on about Social Nationalists (which is presumably the new name for neo-Nazis):
“The preparations for the rally and the march begun from early this morning, preparations suiting the greatest Nationalist march of the last decade.
The streets around the monument are filled with Greek flags and the banners of the Party, while our slogans rocked the surroundings. Those attending saluted the newcomers with cheers.
The Parliamentary Team of the Golden Dawn, the General Secretary and representatives of Regional Organizations all over Greece.
At the peak of the gathering, 50.000 Nationalists honoured the memory of those that fell in Imia, in 1996.
Speeches were given by many comrades, including the Greek Popular Front of occupied Cyprus.
Once the memorial ended, the Greek National Anthem and the Hymn of the Golden Dawn were sung.“
The post on the BNP web site provides direct links to Golden Dawn’s YouTube page, where bucket loads of neofacist propaganda can be found.
This is a reminder about the awful, neo-Nazi, Golden Dawn:
[Pictured above are Golden Dawn supporters giving the Nazi salute, with Nikolaos Michaloliakos, their leader walking by.]
Michaloliakos called Hitler “a great personality of history”.
The Guardian provided an in-depth look at them, Fear and loathing in Athens: the rise of Golden Dawn and the far right.
At Searchlight, 30,000 Golden Dawn Supporters March in Athens Under Neo-Nazi Banners.
The Observer’s 2009, Exposed: ugly face of BNP’s leaders.
Haaretz on Greek mythology.
Finally, Golden Dawn’s leader makes excuses for the Nazis’s crime. That is what the BNP admire.
Update 1: Spiegel Online is reporting that Golden Dawn are linking up with German neo-Nazis:
“The Greek right-wing extremist party Golden Dawn has established contacts with German neo-Nazis in Bavaria. The group, which is represented in Greek parliament, is also attempting to set up a cell in the southern German state.
The Greek right-wing extremist party Golden Dawn is establishing close contacts with Bavarian neo-Nazis and began setting up a cell in Nuremberg last year. The party, known in Greek as Chrysi Avgi, even held a conference in the southern German city recently.
Bavaria’s state intelligence agency is particularly interested in meetings that have been taking place between right-wing extremists from Greece and those in Bavaria. “
George Galloway on David Ward’s Racism
When I read that George Galloway criticised the MP, David Ward, for using the expression “the Jews” I was pleasantly surprised, although I wondered where was the sting in the tail?
Now gorgeous George has bought out an official statement.
I reproduce it in full, lest it succumb to revisionism and the desire to tidy up some of the more questionable parts:
“TUESDAY, 29 JANUARY 2013
Why David Ward was wrong
It’s good that David Ward has decided to support the Palestinians, even at this late stage in his career. He has clearly realised the strength of feeling among many of his constituents. But his timing and choice of words have inadvertently strengthened their persecutors. No British politician has been more closely identified with the Palestinian cause – and for longer – than me. So when I say that the supporters of Israel spend hundreds of hours every week trawling for just such mis-timings and mis-statements it should be heeded.
His statement – now withdrawn and apologized for to save his political position – has provided an unexpected bonus for Israel, from Bradford of all places. The Holocaust is the greatest crime of the 20th Century. Tens of millions perished in it. I repeat tens of millions. Approximately six million of those were Jews, annihilated for no other reason than that they were Jews. It was slaughter on an industrial scale, men woman and children marched into death camps to be gassed, starved, worked to death. Holocaust Memorial Day cannot possibly be the day to make the comments Ward made, even if, in Professor Norman Finkelstein’s words, ‘the Zionists have developed effective means of translating the murders of millions of Jews into the case for Israel’.
But Ward’s words were even worse than his timing. As a teenager I knew of the importance of avoiding the false synonym of Jew equals Zionist and Zionist equals Jew. Many Jews around the world hate Israel and its crimes and are amongst the Palestinians most effective supporters. The greatest Jew, Dr Albert Einstein, famously refused to become Israel’s first president, saying he could not preside over a state for one people whose happiness was to be built upon the misery of another people.
Professor Noam Chomsky, Professor Finkelstein, Professor Ilan Pappe are but a few of the host of towering intellectuals whose support for the Palestinians is vital. Their courage is unmatchable. And they are all Jews.
Thus Ward’s condemnation of ‘the Jews’ is a gross error on every level. Many Jews are not Zionists – religious and secular – and most Zionists are not Jews, indeed many like the crazed Christian fundamentalists of the US bible belt don’t even like Jews. Ward should have said that a state claiming to be ‘the state of the Jews’ is a blasphemy against the Book and a political monstrosity, heaping endless misery on the Palestinian people whose land they stole, expelling them to wander the earth.
If he had done so then, notwithstanding the bitter animus between Respect (and most of the country) towards the Liberal Democrats who keep the Tories in power, we would have supported him. He did not and so we cannot. ” [My Emphasis.]
Galloway, as an employee of Holocaust denial supporting Press TV, has to keep his feet in several camps and I am sure many people will analyse his words in the coming days, but one thing stood out to me:
Ward should have said that a state claiming to be ‘the state of the Jews’ is a blasphemy against the Book
Which is a strange turn of phrase even for Galloway, I suppose Respect Party’s claim to be political is somewhat undercut by this theological piece of demagoguery.
Whatever Galloway’s real views on the matter, I hope he finds the courage to take his employer, Press TV, to task over the ludicrous lies of the Rothschild running the world and the hosting of David Duke’s friends.
Whilst Galloway is, rightly, criticising David Ward he could look closer to home at Press TV’s veteran antisemite, Gordon Duff’s preposterous article trying to blame Israelis for the shooting at Sandy Hook school.
Well, George, why not tackle the very real antisemites at Press TV? That would be brave.
Mali, Ronnie Raygun And Stephen Sizer’s Plight
The headline news on Mali conveys very little. I think it is useful to try and understand the background to events.
Heather Hurlburt argues that Mali’s crisis caused by development failures, not military aid which seems a bit off, but at least it does provide one side of the argument.
Peter Beaumont’s contribution is much better:
“In Mali’s post-dictatorship history, Bamako’s response to these periodic outbreaks of rebellion has, depressingly, remained the same – a “militiatary” policy that meant that different groups armed to neutralise each other. That policy was pursued over a long period even as former peace agreements were largely allowed to slip on their commitments and old grievances allowed to fester.
Indeed, close analysts of developments in Mali have been concerned for almost a decade by the increasing dysfunctional nature of the country’s government, as well as by the re-emergence of Tuareg and Islamist armed factions in the north. “
The New Yorker is pessimistic and sees the next quagmire:
“The situation in Mali dates back to March of last year, when, in a surprise coup, low-ranking government soldiers overthrew the former Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure. Since then, the country has been broken in two, with the lawless north slipping into a hell of medieval-era punishments like flogging, stoning, and even, reportedly, amputations, all dictated by a severe form of Sharia law practiced by the Islamist radicals who now dominate the area. France, the United States, and other Western powers have been nervously watching this unfold, concerned that Mali would become the next major organizational hub and training ground for Al Qaeda. They hoped that the nations of West Africa would intervene on the Malian government’s behalf, but as those countries dragged their feet about doing so, and as the Islamist rebels continued moving steadily into the southern part of Mali, it began to seem that if someone did not take action to halt their advance, it would be too late to stop them. “
Africa is A Country has a good backgrounder, France in Mali: the End of the Fairytale.
Scott Edwards at Amnesty International USA provides a who’s who, which is very handy.
CNN reports on the growing humanitarian crisis in Mali.
I had always appreciated that Ronald Reagan was intellectually decrepit and only capable of repartee when it had been written for him, but I had not realised he could not process information in a written form, as most presidents do.
Apparently, the CIA provided him with simplistic reports and analysis in the form of films:
By chance I read of Rev. Stephen Sizer’s plight on Craig Murray’s sites. It sounds positively miserable:
“That Stepehn is not an anti-semite and has not knowingly endorsed anti-semitism, I have no doubt. But what worries me is the growing bravura with which all critics of Israel or supporters of the Palestinians are charged with the – rightfully – damning slur of anti-semitism.”
Leaving aside the poor spelling and even weaker reasoning within Murray’s post, I imagine he would have had a stronger case if the comments box had not been littered with obvious antisemitism.
I will bet that neither Rev. Sizer nor Craig Murray would be able to adequately explain why that occurred, but this is a very small sample:
[Apologies to readers, as I have left in the links to neo-Nazi and racist web sites, as a public record. It indicates the type of material that is considered fit and proper reading amongst some of Rev. Sizer’s supporters.]
“Cryptonym 13 Jan, 2013 – 12:36 am
…
I later sampled Behind Communism by Frank L. Britton**, available on hundreds of other websites too, it tries to tell the story of pre, during and post-revolutionary Russian history, not found hardly anywhere else, and can hardly do so without mention of its Jewish population and their huge role, it has a tellingly critical tinge that intrudes on the story…”
…
It isn’t an impossibility to be anti-jewish with perfect ethical and moral justification, nothing is above criticism, it like all religions simply being a set of madcap ideas, constituting a bogus identity, rammed into impressionable minds and causing permanent damage. It seems any subject matter which mentions the chosen ones, not closed off only for their exclusive consumption, and which isn’t quite the prescribed Hollywood gloss revisionist whitewash version of events -is proscribed reading nowadays. “
[** See below for details on Frank L. Britton.]
Many of Murray’s readers seem to relish the opportunity to digest more antisemitic and neo-Nazi material.
“A Node 13 Jan, 2013 – 1:37 am
I’m with Cryptonym on this one. Thanks BoD and Kempe for the tip-off about this useful resource.
http://www.iamthewitness.com/
Sure there’s some stuff there that’s a bit rabid for my taste, but there is much that seems reasonable comment.
…
It’s absolutely fascinating and resonates with a lot of my findings elsewhere.
Really, thank you Bod, and particularly you, Kempe, for providing the link.”
“Brendan 13 Jan, 2013 – 1:47 am
Posting a link is now an offence? Blimey.
http://www.holocaustdenier.com/
Smell them apples then.
Note: I do not deny the holocaust.
… “
Holocaust denial and the themes of “Judeo-Bolshevism” are not considered antisemitic by Murray’s poster, although it is a common notion pushed by the Extreme Right and racists, such as David Irving.
“Zona Norte 14 Jan, 2013 – 2:19 am
An anti-semite is someone who hates someone of semitic origin simply because that person is semitic.
I argue, therefore, that it is not anti-semitic:
To deny the Jewish holocaust.
To deny the uniqueness of the Jewish holocaust.
To compare Jewish suffering with that of other peoples.
To point out that Jews figured prominently in the Bolshevik Revolution.
To claim that AIPAC calls the shots in the US’ Middle East foreign policy.
To opposed the existence of the State of Israel.Such statements or claims may be controversial or dead wrong and could be motivated by anti-semitism but of themselves are not anti-semitic. Refusing a Jew (or Arab) a job because of their race is anti-semitism. Jailing or attacking a Jew or Arab because of their race is anti-semitism. Prejudicial behaviour is the key to anti-semitism. “
[My emphasis.]
“Mary 15 Jan, 2013 – 12:07 pm
Not (fully) reported in the Zionist-controlled corporate media.
…”
etc etc.
[Explanatory note on reference above. Lorne Bair Rare Books notes on Frank L. Britton’s publication, American Nationalist “was the racist and anti-Semitic house organ of Frank L. Britton, a California anti-Communist crusader who was one of the first to detect the presence anti-American influences in Hollywood. Content of the current issues is about equally divided between Jew-baiting and exposure of the plot to “mongrelize” the United States through interracial marriage (also, not surprisingly, a Jewish plot).” ]
I suspect had Frank L. Britton been alive today he’d be commenting on Craig Murray’s site to widespread approval and raising cash for Rev. Sizer’s defence.
Anyone capable of reading should know that the whole “Judeo-Bolshevism” nonsense is the staple of neo-Nazis and hardened antisemites, as are many of the ideas circulating in that thread.
The complaint against Rev. Sizer is here, as a PDF, and fairly damning it is too.
The BOD statement, One Sizer doesn’t fit all.
Update 1: Rev. Sizer hasn’t been slow garnering support enlisting his PhD supervisor, Dr Martin Davies.
London BDS, Racism And Press TV
Anti-Israeli boycott, disinvestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigners often claim they against antisemitism and racism, yet their actions tell another story.
London BDS as an unfortunate habit of using material from the racist, Press TV.
Recently, they praised an article by Jim W. Dean.
Astute readers will know that Dean is intimately connected to the terrible Veterans Today, not only that but any cursory reading of the article would ring alarm bells amongst any antiracist, where he argues:
“Real historians like David Irving were attacked for printing the forbidden truth and made examples of to cower the rest of the sheep. And yes, Jewish lobbies had their fingerprints all over the dirty deed. “
If London BDS and other Western pro-Palestinian activists wish to be more convincing than they should stop digesting the racist filth that Press TV puts out.
Anyone ignorant of David Irving should read Holocaust Denial on Trial and the Guardian’s special report.
The SPLC on Veterans Today.
Update 1: The PSC have put out a statement distancing themselves from the @LondonBDS account:
“Palestine Solidarity Campaign is shocked and disgusted that a twitter account @londonbds tweeted an article with clearly anti-Semitic content. We oppose all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
Anti-racism is a core value of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and the broader Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality. Palestinians face systematic discrimination and building opposition to all forms of racism is a key part of our campaigning.
Supporting Palestine is supporting an anti-racist struggle and we shall continue to make clear that there is no place for any form of racism in our movement.
PSC has been informed that this is not the twitter account of London BDS group, whose account is @londonbdsgroup, but an apparently lone individual. We have reported this to twitter as hate speech. “
All very laudable, however, the PSC is not adverse to the racist Press TV, as a matter of principle, any simple search shows that.
The rest of their statement is decidedly implausible, as anyone with access to Google can see.
Readers will remember how long it took the PSC to kick out a self-proclaimed Holocaust denier, Francis Clark-Lowes, from their ranks. Even then about 1/5 of the conference delegates did not think Holocaust denial was antisemitic and wanted to keep him as a member.
Moreover, the notorious Ben White saw no problem with the @LondonBDS as can be seen.
My bet is their next gambit will be “Some of our best friends are….”
UKIP And The Bigots
The political fringe grouping, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), is rejoicing at the recent controversy in Rotherham for all of its free publicity and the lack of critical comment.
I thought it helpful to remind readers of the unsavoury characters in and around UKIP.
Firstly, Aidan Rankin, who according to his confessions in the New Statesman, once “had held standard progressive views and written occasional contributions to New Left Review” later to be sucked into the xenophobic world of UKIP supporters via the Far Right. Perpetually stupid, Rankin seems to have associated with well-known Far Right figure Patrick Harrington’s Third Way. Older readers will remember Harrington as a National Front member and one-time student of North East London Polytechnic. Rankin finally left UKIP, but as much in sorrow as in realisation. Harrington, predictably, has joined the BNP.
Next, Alistair McConnachie a one-time UKIP executive member and candidate for the party, was an open Holocaust denier and supporter of David Irving.
Andrew Moffat was a member of UKIP for 12 years and a long standing candidate. Hope, not Hate relates:
“Andrew Moffat: A former National Front member who was booted out of the Army in 1980. He was once David Irving’s political secretary and has remained close friends with former NF National Activities Organiser Martin Webster. He stood for UKIP in Beaconsfield in 2001, finishing in last place. He later joined the BNP, becoming the BNP’s economic spokesman and became Andrew Brons’ close political assistant, running his Brussels office. Moffat will become deputy chairman of True Brits. “
Another unsavoury element was Alastair Harper, UKIP’s one-time candidate in Dunfermline West. Harper had been a leading activist with Roger Pearson’s neo-Nazi, Northern League.
One of UKIP’s MEPs, Mike Nattrass, was a member of the Far Right, New Britain Party in the 1990s
I expect that their excuse will be “we have moderated our views” or “we have changed”.
But what they really need to say is “UKIP has been a party full of racists, cranks and misfits from the Far Right, but now we are different”. I am not sure how many people would believe that, even if UKIP had the courage to say it!
In the interim, Richard Corbett’s PDF pamphlet on the UKIP makes interesting reading.
I would recommend studying UKIPwatch.org’s blog and Junius on UKIP.
Still, I must have missed out any number of questionable characters snugly hidden in the UKIP family, or other examples of racism within UKIP.
I would welcome readers’ contributions on bigotry in UKIP.
The British Empire, Far Right And Press TV.
News just in, the British conquered most (or at least tried to) of the world!
Rather fittingly the Torygraph informs its readers that:
“A new study has found that at various times the British have invaded almost 90 per cent of the countries around the globe.
The analysis of the histories of the almost 200 countries in the world found only 22 which have never experienced an invasion by the British.
Among this select group of nations are far-off destinations such as Guatemala, Tajikistan and the Marshall Islands, as well some slightly closer to home, such as Luxembourg. “
I can’t say I am surprised. Anyone familiar with British society can tell you about the low level of jingoism that permeates it. Not as stark as it once was, but it is still around, lurking in the corners.
Continue reading
Hamas And Jews
Anyone ignorant of Hamas’s ingrained hatred for Jews would probably be surprised by Hamas latest outburst as reported in Reuters.
We shouldn’t be, it is plain enough in their Charter.
Even Khalid Mashaal couldn’t miss out on a bit of Holocaust revisionism in 2008 when being interviewed by Sky News:
“We don’t deny the holocaust.
But, we believe the Zionists have exaggerated the numbers to get sympathy from other nations.”
AP reports a Hamas official as saying the Holocaust “is a big lie.”
Whilst Reuters’ coverage is softer it conveys a similar message:
“(Reuters) – The Hamas Islamist group in charge of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday denounced a Palestinian official’s visit to the site of a Nazi death camp in Poland, and called the Holocaust in which 6 million European Jews perished an “alleged tragedy.”
Ziad al-Bandak, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who governs in the occupied West Bank, had made a rare visit by a Palestinian official to the site of the Auschwitz death camp late last month.
“It was an unjustified and unhelpful visit that served only the Zionist occupation,” said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas. Hamas rejects Israel’s existence and interim peace accords reached by Abbas’ more moderate Fatah group with Israel.
Barhoum further called Bandak’s visit to Auschwitz, a camp where the Nazis killed 1.5 million people, most of them Jews but also other Polish citizens, during World War Two, as “a marketing of a false Zionist alleged tragedy.”
He said he saw this as coming “at the expense of a real Palestinian tragedy,” alluding to Israel’s control over territory where Palestinians live and seek to establish a state.
Israel was founded as a Jewish state in 1948, several years after the wartime genocide occurred.
Islamist extremists have taken to denying the Holocaust happened as part of a narrative rejecting Israel’s existence, often at the encouragement of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called the genocide “a myth.” “
(H/T: Thanks to Jeremy Moodey for pointing me to this story).
Update 1: Jeremy has asked me to clarify the racism in Hamas’s Charter I am happy to oblige.
This handy ADL guide brings out some of the Charter’s low points:
“
Adopted in August 1988, the Hamas Charter openly embraces the notorious anti-Semitic forgery, “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” holding it up as evidence that Jews are innately greedy, manipulative and conniving, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The charter adopts classical anti-Semitic canards: Jews as plotting to control the world, Jews acquiring wealth by stealing, and Jews controlling the levers of power in media, government and finance. Such stereotypical anti-Semitic canards have been used through the centuries to defame and demonize Jews, leading to violence, pogroms and, ultimately, the Holocaust.
“The Hamas credo is not just anti-Israel, but profoundly anti-Semitic with racism at its core,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “The Hamas Charter reads like a modern-day ‘Mein Kampf.’
“Any discussion about whether Western governments should or shouldn’t deal with a Hamas-led Palestinian government must not ignore the Jew hatred that is at the core of their belief system, and that none of their leaders has renounced. Hamas wants to present a moderate face to the West, when in fact they are anything but moderate,” added Mr. Foxman.
Aside from its embrace of virulently anti-Semitic myths, the Hamas Charter is replete with conspiracy theories about Jews through history. The Charter blames “world Zionism” for the French and Communist Revolutions, World War I, and the establishment of the United Nations, which it claims was created by Jews “in order to rule the world by their intermediary.”
Selected Excerpts: The Hamas Charter
•”The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him…”
•”The Nazism of the Jews does not skip women and children, it scares everyone. They make war against people’s livelihood, plunder their moneys and threaten their honor … They took advantage of key elements in unfolding events, and accumulated a huge and influential material wealth which they put to the service of implementing their dream ….”
•(Jews) control of the world media (and use their) wealth to stir revolutions … They stood behind the French and the Communist Revolutions.”
•”There was no war that broke out anywhere without their (Jews’) fingerprints on it.”
” [My emphasis.]
Also see Hamas in their own words.
BBC Understatement, Racism and Rounding Up
I was about to put out a number of individual posts, but it is probably more worthwhile to include them in a round up:
Surprise, surprise, neofascist killer, Breivik took drugs before going on his murder spree.
I wonder if the chess playing Israeli boycotters will avoid the games of Boris Gelfand?
The singing neo-Nazi, Gary Marsden I’Anson, is on his uppers.
Whilst I had appreciated the level of uranium enrichment completed by the Iranian regime, the actual volume and size of the material, some 6 tons of UF6 enriched to 3.5 percent, was a shock to me. That is a lot of enriched uranium.
Searchlight on Journalist falls for EDL’s absurd claims.
Western Supporters Of The Palestinians And Racism: A Dialogue With the Deaf.
[Warning, by necessity this post contains links to racist material as examples. Apologies]
I should have posted this a week ago, but other matters came up.
Whilst composing part of this post in my head, I debated whether or not it should be called a dialogue with the deaf or no good deed goes unpunished.
The reason behind my thinking was, I had noticed that whenever you point out to Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause that they have linked to, or proffered, a racist web site, then they take offence.
They don’t listen.
And before you have manage to explain why their choice of web site was racist they will invariably retort “Are you calling me an anti-Semite?”, “You just want to close down any criticism with accusations of antisemitism, don’t you?” or something similar.
They don’t even apologise or excuse themselves.
Nevertheless, recently when I pointed out to Jeremy Moodey, one of my occasional readers, that he had linked to a racist web site, I had hoped he would acknowledge his error, apologise and avoid such material in the future.
What wishful thinking on my part.
My exchanges with him proved to be a dialogue with the deaf.
Jeremy was unwilling to acknowledge that his choice of article was racist or that the site contained sizeable racist material.
So, as a public service, I am going to explain why Red Ice Creations is racist.
I shouldn’t have to explain this point, but it is apparent that many Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause are almost completely oblivious to anti-Jewish racism.
I could explain that the Red Ice Creations pushes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a truthful document, how it thinks that David Irving has a point. Rants on about the Power of the Rothschilds, how it compares the neo-Nazi, Ernst Zundel, to Galileo and finally spins the tale that, Hitler didn’t want world war.
The site is littered with racist filth, offensive garbage and conspiracy theories that should make any attentive person stop in their tracks.
When you look around you’ll find an article entitled “The Macabre Holocaust Numbers Game” by Henry Makow, Ph.D.
His Wikipedia entry states “Makow has voiced his anti-feminist, anti-semitic, and anti New World Order views in his books.” If there was any doubt on Makow’s views then his post, The Satanist Banker Conspiracy By Henry Makow PhD is enough for any reasoned person to see the problem.
I could explain how it founder, Henrik Palmgren, has some serious issues with Jews.
Or that Palmgren thinks Jews control Holywood:
“Statistically, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics roughly 0.19% of the worlds population are Jewish.
In America about 1.7% of the population are Jewish.
So why is it that in almost EVERY movie and TV show that I’ve tried watching over the last few years at least ONE (but usually more) references to this minority is made. Either to the people, the culture or something else. Why?
…The jews have after all been thrown out of the majority of European countries in the past. Why is this? Can we attribute this solely to insane, irrational, unfounded anti-semitic hysteria on behalf of the christian Europeans who think that jews killed Jesus (a Jew)?
I don’t think so!”
I suspect astute readers will understand where he’s going with this, but if a site, positively filled with racist and extremist material run by someone who has serious hang-ups against Jews, isn’t enough to raise an eyebrow then what will?
I could explain of all that, but I suspect it wouldn’t register
Still pressing on, the article chosen by Jeremy is one of many similar pieces you find on sites, like Red Ice Creations, it is the soft sneer type, used to pull in readers to the hard core antisemitic filth within.
Essentially, it uses an extract from Louis Theroux On Ultra Zionists to have a go at Jewish dietary laws. It is not concerned with actions against Palestinians or human rights.
It is just about jeering at Jews. Later on in the post it links to an article ranting on about circumcision by J. Steven Svoboda.
So the thrust of Jeremy Moodey’s choice is an article, from a racist web site, which doesn’t talk about human rights or injustices done to Palestinians, instead it focuses on sneering at Jews, dietary laws and circumcision.
And that, Jeremy, is why it is racist.
When you consciously choose to attacked the sincerely held beliefs of an ethnic minority just for sport, as Red Ice Creations does, then you are crossing a red line and conniving with racism.
No, Jeremy, I don’t want to limit your freedom of speech, have as much as you want, only please avoid racist sites and don’t post from them.
It is belittling and offensive, you should know better.
Rev. Sizer And The Questions of Veterans Today
In light of Rev. Stephen Sizer linking to an antisemitic site, Calvin Smith has asked some pertinent questions:
“What is Veteran’s Place? Is it properly anti-Semitic or predominantly anti-Israel?”
The quick reply is, yes, Veterans Today (run by Gordon Duff) is most definitively an antisemitic web site.
Nevertheless, I think Calvin Smith and readers deserves a fuller answer.
Veterans Today is a sullenly obsessive site, whose target is Jews, across the world and throughout history.
We can verify the nature of this site by sampling some of its pages. Readers should be warned that the following are specimens of racist material, used to illustrate the character of Veterans Today.
First off, we find articles either praising Adolf Hitler, excusing him or trying to deflect attention from his murderous crimes:
Hitler and the Banksters: The Abolition of Interest-Servitude posted by Dr. Ingrid Rimland Zundel, wife of well known Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, author of “The Hitler We Loved and Why”
If you have any doubt about the sympathies of the author, or Veterans Today, then this article puts them to rest, when he argues:
” On August 30, 1939, in an act of great statesmanship, Hitler again offered to the Poles the Marienwerder proposals,(21) namely retention of the existing 1919 borders, the return of Danzig (97% German), the construction of a 60-mile autobahn and rail link connecting West and East Prussia (from Schoenlanke to Marienwerder) and an exchange of German and Polish populations. On the orders of the international bankers, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, strongly advised the Poles NOT to negotiate. This is how and why World War II was started. The ensuing forced war resulted in victory for the international financiers and defeat and slavery for all the people of Europe.
Today the bankers reign supreme. The European Union with its commissars in Brussels and its so called “European” Central Bank headquartered in Frankfurt,(22) increasingly resembles the old Soviet Union. However, with the recent ongoing “sovereign” debt crisis and the collapse of the Euro, the plan for a united Europe anchored in perpetual debt enslavement has received a major setback and has indeed started to disintegrate
.
Notwithstanding the inability of Adolf Hitler to permanently liberate Europe, it behooves us to appreciate that what he achieved was not done in vain. It is incumbent on us to learn and understand the fundamentals of usury and to spread that knowledge relentlessly, until our material and spiritual liberties have been restored. “
This is not isolated, another vile piece by J.B.Campbell states:
” We now know that the insane Jewish liars are guided in this by a mystical attachment to the number six, as seen with their national symbol, the six-pointed star. Six, or six hundred, or six thousand, or six hundred thousand, or six million Jews must be removed before the messiah returns or Israel reappears or whatever. It’s not important to us, just that this is a magic number to them. And they should be wholly burnt in ovens. Hence, Holocaust (wholly burnt). Read >>> Jewish History and the Scriptual Orgin of the 6 Million Dollar Number “
It goes on in a similar vein. Yuck.
The owner of Veterans Today, Gordon Duff dives straight into Holocaust revisionism:
“Two thousand people in Europe are in prison today for questioning some part, no matter how minor, of the holocaust. The official story of the holocaust is a compendium of testimony of several hundred thousand people as there was little physical evidence left at the end of the war. Some facilities were reconstructed based on testimony, for historical perspective but in general, it is believed that the Germans destroyed all evidence of death camps and mass graves when they learned they were losing the war.
Thousands of those who find this explanation unsatisfactory and had chosen to disagree, some noted historians, some scientists and some simple troublemakers and activists, have been imprisoned. At the trials, holocaust victims claimed that such questioning harmed them irreparably. However, not one holocaust victim has ever spoken up about the endless numbers of phony holocaust victims who besmirch them every day and have for nearly 65 years. Why is that?
One thing the revisionists claim is that almost every story from the holocaust, including notable books and even world famous holocaust survivors are, in actuality, the worst phonies of all. The analogy of the “phony veteran” is applicable here. After each war, endless numbers of those, who for reasons legitimate or not, felt their contribution to the war effort was less than honorable or noteworthy, claim accomplishments they are undeserving of. It is also known that combat veterans are seldom seen on bar stools at service organizations talking about heroic exploits. “
All of this repellent material was found in a cursory search of Veterans Today.
Any thoughtful individual would not have chosen to link to this site without first verifying the source of the material, and as we have seen Veterans Today is full of the most unspeakable antisemitic filth around.
Looking down its “Featured Columnists” is like a mini-Who’s who of bigots, conspiracy theorists and semi-professional Jew haters.
Alan Hart
Allen L Roland
Anthony Hall
Bob Johnson
David Swanson
Debbie Menon
Denise Nichols
Dr. Ingrid R. Zundel
Ed Mattson
Eileen Fleming
Gordon Duff
James Petras
Jim Fetzer
Jim W. Dean
Johnny Punish
Ken O’Keefe
Ken Smith
Kevin Barrett
Khalil Nouri
Kourosh Ziabari
Paul J. Balles
Raja Mujtaba
Robert O’Dowd
Sami Jamil Jadalla
Sherwood Ross
Stephen Lendman
Stewart Ogilby
Stuart Littlewood
Tim King
Tom Valentine
Vojislav Milosevic
So, the fuller reply to Calvin Smith’s question is, yes, Veterans Today is most certainly an antisemitic web site and I have not even mentioned references to David Duke, ex-Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan or 911 conspiracy theories.
It is hardly coincidental that hard antisemitic sites are replete with conspiracy theories, as such notions are central to anti-Jewish racism.
Whilst it’s true to say that, not every conspiracy theorist is an antisemite, every committed antisemite is a conspiracy theorist, as it is integral to their racism.
In my view, no considered or attentive person would use, link to, associate with the Veterans Today site or any of its authors.
If they did, then you must question their judgement, commitment to anti-racism and above all their attitudes towards Jews.
I think Rev. Sizer should truly reflect on this issue and ask himself the questions:
1. What impulse made me use material from the antisemitic site, Veterans Today?
2. Why was I drawn to it?
3. How can I avoid making this mistake once more?
Transition: From Concerned to Jenny Tonge and Ken O’Keefe.
While studying the phenomena of support for Jenny Tonge I have been struck by a number of things:
1. The level of shared paranoia and slippage into conspiracy theories that occurs.
2. How many of her defenders subscribe to her conspiratorial views or paranoia about some supposedly all-powerful “Zionist” lobby.
3. How distasteful it is to see once cynical individuals don rose tinted glasses when dealing with Tonge’s comments.
Granted, my sampling was only every reference to Jenny Tonge on Twitter for a 12+ hour period and there might be other interpretations. Nevertheless, they do seem to illustrate much of the above.
Naturally, there is a degree of variation and intensity in those expressing support for Baroness Tonge.
It is rather like a sliding scale, comparatively moderate at one end, increasingly vociferous and extreme at the other.
We can see how, otherwise, decent people may feel some sympathy for Jenny Tonge, as her supporters portray her as a victim.
The reality is, of course, very different. Baroness Tonge merely resigned the party whip, not from the Liberal Democrats. She is still a member. In fact, she has more freedom to shout off her mouth.
But it is understandable that some take pity on her.
Slightly further down the scale you have the political activists who have a chip on their shoulder about Israelis, and some that even share Baroness Tonge’s obsession with the supposedly all powerful “Zionist” lobby.
Inching along the scale we find cranks, such as the London BDS, which make inflammatory and perplexing remarks:
“Please write to Baroness Jenny Tonge to show your support. Israelificated Zionists controlled media trying to…”
“Lib-Dem and Labour Zionists purge Jenny Tonge « Red Scribblings”
On the surface comparatively moderate, however, digging deeper revealed a blog which proffers a strange mix of Holocaust denial, outright racism and stupidity.
All this might suggest that many people start off with understandable sympathy for the Palestinians, some migrate over time to Jenny Tonge’s stance and then possibly on to sharing Ken O’Keefe’s extremist views.
Readers will remember him ranting about 9/11 and Mossad, as the JC reported:
“Baroness Tonge was sitting next to Mr O’Keefe as he screamed at audience members, said Israel “must be destroyed” and claimed Mossad was “directly involved” in the September 11 terror attacks on the United States.”
That shared paranoia seemed almost infectious.
When questioned Tonge’s supporters are apt to respond with incredulity. They can’t see how their weird views could be seen differently from the outside. They show an almost complete lack of introspection.
That is the danger.
Starting off with good intentions, but after swimming around in this bizarre paranoid dogma become obsessed with “Zionists” ending up like Ken O’Keefe, ranting on about Mossad and 9/11, almost foaming at the mouth.
Many people are concerned with these issues, but some succumb to Jenny Tonge’s polite racism and paranoia, and can become purblind to the implications of Ken O’Keefe’s views.
Frightening.
Public Record: Searchlight on Israel Shamir
It appears that the Searchlight’s 2004 article on the racist, Israel Shamir, has gone missing.
I assume they’ve had a redesign and it got lost along the way.
Therefore, as a public service, I present a copy:
“
Author: Tor Bach, Sven Johansen and Lise Apfelblum
Date: May 2004
Israeli writer is Swedish anti-Semite
A man who claims to be one of Israel’s leading intellectuals is also a Swedish antisemitic writer. Israel Shamir presents himself on his website as a leading Russian-Israeli intellectual and a writer, translator and journalist. But in 2001 he changed his name to Jöran Jermas and has surrounded himself in Sweden and Norway with antisemites and strange conspiracy theorists.
Shamir also claims to have occupied a string of important positions as a translator of classical works and to have worked as a journalist in several heavyweight media institutions, including for the major Israeli paper, Haaretz. However, when Monitor started investigating Shamir’s past last year, it found no evidence that Shamir had ever held these positions. His supposed job as Moscow correspondent for Haaretz turned out to consist of just a few freelance articles.
The Swedish Census Registry does give a few clues about Shamir and his movements. It shows that his name was entered onto the Registry in October 1984 and he later obtained Swedish citizenship. According to the register he still lives in Dalagatan, Stockholm, not in Jaffa, Israel, as he publicly claims. Shamir’s first wife and two sons also live in Stockholm.
In July 1993, Shamir emigrated to Russia and later to Israel, where he married again in July 1994. He and his new wife returned to Sweden in autumn 1998.
Shamir, who claims to be one of Israel’s leading intellectuals, has concealed the fact that he has lived in Sweden for a long time. Another strange fact is that there are hardly any references to Shamir on the internet before 2001, the same year in which he changed his name. This was a strange time to do this, just as he was being noticed and had started to publish his works under the name of Israel Shamir.
Jermas’s translator in Norway is Hans Olav Brendberg, a teacher, who was recently asked to leave the executive committee of a branch of the Red Electoral Alliance (RV). The left-wing RV, which took 1.2% of the vote in the general election in 2001 and has over 80 local councillors, accused Brendberg of making anti-Jewish statements on the internet and in his work as Jermas’s translator.
Brendberg, 35, stirred up controversy after writing articles for the left-wing daily Klassekampen in which he charged the Jews with killing Christ and hating all non-Jews. But it is through the KK-forum, Klassekampen’s semi-official web-based discussion forum, that Brendberg has gained most notoriety for statements such as: “Millions of nice Germans have always existed but not one of them is mentioned in Anne Frank’s Diaries. As for the broader picture: is not the world bigger than the attic of a Dutch city apartment block?”
On several occasions, Brendberg has referred to Kevin MacDonald, an extreme right-wing American, as an authority on Jewish matters. MacDonald, a professor at an obscure Californian university, is a white racist, antisemitic, anti-black, anti-left apologist for Hitler’s genocide and an inveterate fascist.
MacDonald is perhaps most infamous for his claim that the Jews have effected a breeding programme to conquer other “races”. He appeared in court as a witness on behalf of David Irving, the British quasi-historian and Hitler admirer, in his libel case against Deborah Lipstadt.
In his books MacDonald alleges that Marxism and the Russian revolution of October 1917 are Jewish conspiracies. He also claims that the Jews and Asians are threatening to wrest power from the Europeans in the USA and considers it genetically dangerous to “import Africans”. Brendberg regards MacDonald’s books as classical, academic works worthy of critical debate.
Shamir has found other, even more extreme friends in Sweden. One of his Swedish translators, Lars Adelskog, is not only a leading figure in the Swedish UFO movement but can also be found in the jungle of conspiracy theories where the Illuminati, the Freemasons and lizards in human form are supposedly working together to end civilisation as we know it.
Adelskog’s last book bore the profound title En tom säck kan inte stå (An empty bag cannot stand) and was published by the openly nazi publisher Nordiska Förlaget. This organisation also sells books by MacDonald, Hitler and Irving. In his latest book, Adelskog tries in typical nazi style to “prove” that the Nazi genocide of the Jews never took place.
Adelskog was previously the editor of the Swedish “alternative” magazine Nexus, where he also spread his pet conspiracy theories. The Nationalsocialistisk Front later touted unsold issues of Nexus through its website.
Jermas/Shamir himself is no stranger to conspiracy theories. When he visited Norway in 2001, he made the laughable claim in the mainstream newspaper Adresseavisa that many Jews received text messages warning them to get out of the World Trade Centre in New York before the terror attacks of 11 September.
Another outlet that eagerly promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories is the Russian magazine Zavtra and its editor Alexander Prokhanov. While in Moscow, Jermas worked as a journalist for Zavtra, which has been described as Russia’s most antisemitic rag. When the notorious racist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke went to Russia to promote his new book, Jewish Supremacism, and his National Association for the Advancement of White People, it was on Prokhanov’s invitation.
Despite the dogs with which he is willing to lie down, Jermas does not seem afraid of catching fleas. In the USA, Alex Linder of Kirksville, Missouri, who has seemingly fallen from grace in the nazi National Alliance (NA), has set up his own outfit called the Vanguard News Network. Lindner is eagerly promoting a forthcoming congress of Holocaust liars in Sacramento this year and published parts of a peculiar email correspondence with Jermas, posing under his old name of Shamir.
According to Lindner, Bob White the NA leader had told Jermas that the conference had been called off. Then Jermas told Lindner in an email that if the conference were to go ahead he would be interested in taking part as a speaker, “provided:
“1) There will be no leak about my coming until the day of my coming, and
“2) You can pay for trip for me and my wife including flexible return flight tickets, hotels and two hundred dollars a day for food and similar expenses, plus 1,000 dollars speaker’s fee.
“If you can’t afford it, I shall supply you with my talk and you may read it or distribute it the way you like.
“In any case, I would advise to keep this exchange entres [sic] nous, as premature publicity would severely undermine our ability to communicate freely.”
Jermas’s demands must have confirmed all Lindner’s beliefs about “greedy Jews”. As he put it: “Who does he think he is? Not even Horst Mahler has made demands like this.”
Jermas is also a keen propagandist. He poses as a friend of the Palestinian people and claims to be promoting systematic criticism of the state of Israel. Because of this several of his writings have been quoted in international debates on the Middle East.
However, leading Palestinian representatives do not share this view. Ali Abunimah, a prominent media critic on the Electronic Intifada website, and Hussein Ibish, press spokesman of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), warned as early as 2001 that Shamir was an antisemite and not just against Israel. They claimed that his opposition to Israel was no less than a rehash of the classical elements of the European antisemitic tradition.
Brendberg has consciously chosen to convey Shamir’s views and other politically toxic material to the Norwegian public. Questions are being asked whether a person who spreads such views on Jews should be allowed to work as a religious education teacher in the state school system. Christine Mohn, the leader of the Norwegian Association against Antisemitism, left no doubt about her view: “No, definitely not!”
© Searchlight Magazine 2004
“
A copy is held on the Way Back machine.
Robert Faurisson Meets Friends
Hope Not Hate reminds us that Robert Faurisson has friends in high places:
“Veteran French Holocaust Denier Robert Faurisson has been feted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the 2nd international conference on Hollywoodism and Cinema, held earlier this month in Terhan.
Faurisson is believed to have been one of up to 48 foreign visitors at the conference which claimed to prove that a US/Zionist agenda was being pursued by Hollywood films. Also in attendance were Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad Hosseini, and his deputy in cinematic affairs, Javad Shamaghdari.
According to the Iranian Government TV channel, Press TV, the event discussed “five principle topics namely ‘Narration in Hollywood,’ ‘Role of Cinema in the World Awakening,’ ‘The Role of Hollywoodism and Human Decadence,’ ‘Portrait of Future in Hollywood’ and ‘Hollywoodism and Zionism.'”
Also in attendance at the conference were Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, the French antisemitic “comedian” and supporters of Neturei Karta, an Orthodox Jewish anti-Israeli group. “
Soupy One 