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January 6, 1998

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

The paragraph below comes from a website called "HateWatch", known already to many of us, whose purpose is to label websites such as the Zundelsite as "hate sites".

Please ponder the definition of a "hate group" carefully and decide where such a definition applies - and what it says about whoever drafted it:

On this website, a "hate group" is defined as

". . . an organization or individual that advocates violence against or unreasonable hostility towards those persons or organizations identified by their race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or gender also including organizations or individuals that purposively disseminate historically inaccurate information with regards to these persons or organizations."

Take just "unreasonable hostility." Why does Nizkor come to mind? The Simon Wiesenthal Center? B'nai Brith? The ADL? The JDL? Who else?

Every Holocaust Promotion Lobby in the world! How many are listed on HateWatch?

How many Jewish websites, for that matter, compared to Christian websites?"

"Ms. Rimland, you have listed above four organizations (the ADL is, in fact, a subgroup of B'nai Brith). Should I detail for you why each group you cited is or is not a hate group as per the definition from HateWatch that you cite above?

Nizkor is not a hate group because it does not advocate violence in any form, nor does it advocate hostility toward any particular race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender, nor does it disseminate historically inaccurate information with regards to the aforementioned groups. You may argue that, in "lobbying" in support of the idea that the Holocaust is an historical fact that Nizkor is disseminating historically inaccurate information. Even if this were so (which I will say for the record it is not -- the Holocaust did, in fact, occur), Nizkor is still not maligning a race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender by taking this position. You may argue that the group it is maligning is Germans. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only group that Nizkor "maligns" is Nazis and anti-Semites. Unless you are of the opinion, which I am not, that all Germans are Nazis and anti-Semites, then Nizkor's position on the Holocaust cannot be taken as a "hate" position given the above definition.

The exact same criteria may be used to disqualify the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (SWC) from the above definition of a hate group. First, the SWC has always eschewed violence and has chosen instead to bring Nazi war criminals to courts of justice in the countries of their crimes, or in the State of Israel. They don't gun down people in the streets. As for the issue of hostility toward any particular race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender, or the dissemination of historically inaccurate information with regards to the aforementioned groups, I would again state that even though the SWC takes the historically accurate position that the Holocaust took place, this position does not malign any of the aforementioned groups. At the risk of repeating myself, the only group that the SWC "maligns" is Nazis and anti-Semites. You may argue that the group it is maligning is Germans. Unless you are of the opinion, which I am not, that all Germans are Nazis and anti-Semites, then the SWC's position on the Holocaust cannot be taken as a "hate" position given the above definition.

On to B'nai Brith. As an umbrella organization, B'nai Brith is devoted to the preservation and furthering of Jewish cultural traditions through its many suborganizations. There is nothing violent about this point of view, just as there is nothing violent about a German-American group (and there are many) dedicating time, money and energy to the preservation of German cultural traditions. The same goes for Irish-American, Italian-American, Latino-American, African-American, Asian-American, and lesbian and gay organizations. It is only when such a group -- for instance, some factions of ActUp or so-called "German-American" cultural societies like the NSDAP/AO of Gary Lauck -- advocates violence that they cross the border into what may be perceived as a hate group, though I would not exactly equate the NSDAP/AO and ActUp. As for hostility toward any particular race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender, B'nai Brith does not engage in any of these things either. In fact, one need not be Jewish to be a member of B'nai Brith -- all races, religions, nationalities, sexual orientations and genders are welcome to be members. Again, at the risk of repeating myself, the only group that B'nai Brith "maligns" is Nazis and anti-Semites in stating their belief that the Holocaust was an historical event. You may argue that the group it is maligning is Germans Unless you are of the opinion, which I am not, that all Germans are Nazis and anti-Semites, then B'nai Brith's position on the Holocaust cannot be taken as a "hate" position given the above definition.

Briefly, the Jewish Defense League *is* a hate group. It is outwardly violent, both in the U.S. and in the State of Israel. It is chauvinistically hostile toward anyone non-Jewish -- particularly Arabs and very particularly Palestinian Arabs. Further, they are also openly homophobic and sexist. As such, they fit the HateWatch definition of a hate group and are listed as such at the site.

And yet again, not to belabor the point, promoting the belief that the Holocaust took place is not inherently violent nor hostile to any of the subgroups that HateWatch outlines in the above definition. It is only hostile to Nazis and anti-Semites. You may argue that the group it is maligning is Germans. Unless you are of the opinion, which I am not, that all Germans are Nazis and anti-Semites, then the position of "Holocaust promotion lobbies" on the Holocaust cannot be taken as a "hate" position given the above definition.

A final note: There are, at present *zero* ìJewishî sites listed as hate groups at HateWatch. Some groups (three, from my cursory look) are controlled by Jewish interests or individuals, but these groups are not following the Toraic rule to "love the stranger, for you were once strangers in a strange land." Also, by my count, there are *zero* Christian groups listed at HateWatch -- at least as I understand Christian in the sense that Jesus defined it in the New Testament. He never expressed any violent position, nor did he express hatred of homosexuals, women, non-Jews (though he was Jewish), or anyone who did not first bear a grudge against him (Romans, for instance). At even in the case of the Romans, Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies. In this sense, Jesus was thoroughly, by his own definition, thoroughly Christian. Given this evidence, I can find no Christian hate groups at HateWatch -- only hate groups masquerading as Christians.

Thought for the Day:

According to "Die Welt", April 7, 1997, more than 5,800 individuals have in recent times been persecuted in Germany for ThoughtCrimes.