From the Adelaide Institute arrived a series of updates that gives you a flavor for what is beginning to play "down under" where Dr. Fredrick Toben of the Adelaide Institute has battled the Enemies of Free Speech and Truth for some time.
Here they are, in chronological order:
Adelaide's Jewish Community Threatens Community Broadcaster, ACE TV, with Legal Action
ABC Radio reports:
News 3 PM, 29 May 1998
Glen Moore: Adelaide's Jewish community has condemned ACE TV for scheduling a program that claims the German Holocaust never happened. Rebecca Morse reports the program's presenter has defended his right to a public forum for his research.
Rebecca Morse: "No Holes, No Holocaust" is a program delivered by Adelaide historian Fredrick Toben which claims the accepted model of the Auschwitz gas chamber is a fraud.
Fredrick Toben: Anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic, all these words are used to stop your mind from questioning the content of the program.
Rebecca Morse: George Rich from Adelaide's Jewish community objects to the program's broadcast.
George Rich: It is abhorrent that views which are extremist and represent a small minority should be presented as if they are somehow the views of a significant majority.
Rebecca Morse: ACE TV says it has an obligation under its charter to provide access to all individuals.
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National PM, 29 May 1998
Presenter: South Australia's Jewish community is furious that an Adelaide public television station plans to show a program that claims the Nazi Holocaust never happened. As Rebecca Morse reports Jewish leaders have filed for an injunction to stop the program which is presented by a controversial Adelaide historian.
Rebecca Morse: "No Holes, No Holocaust" is a one-hour presentation by Dr Fredrick Toben. His program claims the accepted historic model of the Auschwitz gas chamber is a fraud. Dr Toben travelled to Germany (sic) to examine the chamber and says holes in the roof which reportedly delivered the lethal gas did not exist.
Fredrick Toben: We don't deny, for example, that millions of people died terrible deaths during the war and that Germans committed atrocities. What we're saying, what we're looking at is that specific allegation that the Germans constructed and used homicidal gas chambers especially at Auschwitz and this is what my talk is about. I'm trying to grapple with this challenge thrown out by French revisionist Professor Robert Faurisson who said "No Holes, no 'Holocaust' ". The holes refer to the story which says that in this gas chamber the roof has four square holes and into these four square holes SS men used to throw the gas, the Zyklon B gas. Now I was at Auschwitz last year in April and I couldn't find these four square holes.
Rebecca Morse: Adelaide's Jewish community objects to the claims that their history should be re-written. Community leader George Rich says evidence the Holocaust occurred is overwhelming.
George Rich: Six million Jews were killed during the war. Not only that, but 50 million other people died as a result of the Nazi attacks during the war, and these are facts, these are accepted facts and for somebody to deny them now purely means the continuation of the hatred which they perpetuated 50 years ago.
Rebecca Morse: The Jewish community is attempting to obtain an injunction against public broadcaster ACE TV to prevent the program from going to air. The legal tussle has placed the community station under scrutiny. ACE TV is staffed entirely by volunteers and programming decisions are made by a committee. And while the broadcaster grapples with the controversy surrounding its decision to air the program, Fredrick Toben is unfazed. he believes critics of his program label him racist because they don't want to listen to the facts.
Fredrick Toben: Well, how would you feel if you've been taught something and you accept it as a gospel truth and then somebody says, "Hey, but that's a lie". The first thing you do is kill the messenger, the one who tells you that you've been a fool for believing a story that's been a lie all along.
Rebecca Morse: It's not only Fredrick Toben who's in the firing line. Jewish leader George Rich believes ACE TV is just as much to blame for agreeing to broadcast his views.
George Rich: ACE TV should vet who they are putting on their station. They should assess the impact of somebody that's representing a small minority. They represent the views of hatred and negative views that one anti-small minority of this community and should not portray them.
Presenter: The Adelaide Jewish leader George Rich was talking to Rebecca Morse. The last word tonight goes to Jerry Lewis the 73-year-old comedian, writer, director and film maker who's in Australia, and he told a Melbourne press conference some things should be taboo.
Jerry Lewis: I'm old fashioned, idealistic, mid-Victorian, and I believe in the presidency and I believe in the Oval Office and I believe that though I would fight for the right for you to say something I would rather walk up to you and say, "be a little more tasteful".
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News, 12 Noon, 30 May 1998
Paul McCarthy: Solicitors acting on behalf of Adelaide's Jewish community will next week view a video tape about the Holocaust after it was withdrawn from public screening last night. Community broadcaster ACE TV withdrew the talk by historian Fredrick Toben after claims that it would breach the State's Racial Vilification Act. Dr Toben says the speech questions traditional views of what happened at Auschwitz. He says he's willing to edit out any parts of the speech considered to be defamatory to ensure that the talk will be aired.
Fredrick Toben: We're quite prepared to edit the talk. If they say there is defamatory material therein, we're prepared to edit it out.
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The World Today, lunch-time, 1 June 1998
Peter Cave: The debate over the Jewish Holocaust had flared again and this time it's an Australian historian casting doubts over its validity. A television program presented by Adelaide historian Dr Fredrick Toben claims that the gas chambers of Auschwitz death camp did not exist. The program has been shelved by a community television station after an outcry by South Australia's Jewish community. However, Dr Toben has hit back describing the Jewish community as the enemy of truth. From Adelaide, Mark Willacy.
Mark Willacy: After successfully campaigning last year to stop British historian David Irving entering the country Australia's Jewish community could have been excused for thinking it had also had a victory over his controversial views. But somehow these doctrines have managed to take root in Australia and at the forefront of the debate is Dr Fredrick Toben, the director of the Adelaide Institute.
Fredrick Toben: We are a group of individuals who without fear or favour look at taboo historical topics.
Mark Willacy: According to Dr Toben, one of these taboo historical topics is that of the Jewish Holocaust and more specifically the Auschwitz gas chambers. Fredrick Toben does not deny the Holocaust occurred but what he does reject is the existence of gas chambers at the infamous Auschwitz death camp.
Fredrick Toben: My proof is that I am looking at the story we are told, that there were four square holes in the roof of Krema II at Auschwitz-Birkenau. I was there last year. I went into the remains of that alleged gas chamber and I didn't find these four square gas insertion holes. You cannot fill an alleged gas chamber with gas if you haven't got the four square holes because all of the theory or stories told about this gas chamber or alleged gas chamber has to have these four holes and they're not there.
Mark Willacy: What about eye-witness accounts and accounts from others who actually liberated the camp?
Fredrick Toben: Then , well, I cite Professor Frank Knopfelmacher, the gentleman in Melbourne - he died a few years ago - he talked about a holocaust racket. And I know this is contentious but we must be able to talk about it.
Mark Willacy: All these claims are made in a television program presented by Fredrick Toben which was to have aired on Adelaide community broadcaster ACE TV last Friday night. But after threats of legal action by the Jewish community the TV station pulled the program entitled No Holes, No Holocaust. The chairman of South Australia's Jewish Community Association, Warren Budd, is relieved the program is shelved. But he warns the threat of legal action will re-surface if ACE TV plans to screen Fredrick Toben's program in the future.
Warren Budd: For those that were made aware that it was going to air it was a great shock and horror to them and they were deeply disturbed by it.
Mark Willacy: Could you say views like this should be allowed to be broadcast and then dissected and discredited in some form of logical debate? Could you argue along those lines?
Warren Budd: No, I don't think there's any, I mean there's been so much hardship and hurt over these years to our people as a result of what happened in the Holocaust. I don't see any point in trying to continue it on and continue the aggravation and hardship.
Mark Willacy: Fredrick Toben is upset by what he sees is legal bullying but he says he's willing to compromise.
Fredrick Toben: I'm quite prepared to edit material out of that film, of my talk if it's offensive, but I certainly did not deem any of my comments to be defamatory even regarding the Racial Hatred Act.
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Mrs Rita Freeman
ACE TV
Fax: 83799361 Copy: Karen Ashford - SBS Radio
1 June 1998
Dear Rita -
Herewith a transcript of what has been broadcast to date. On Thursday I am having lunch with William Scammell, who earlier this year retired as Chancellor of The University of Adelaide. He has just returned from a tour of the camps. I mentioned to him the problems and he, like Sir Walter Crocker, support the free speech principle!
I view with great concern the legal threat that will from now on hang over your head - if you let it hang there! The solicitor fax from the Jewish community put it in writing that they would come and view the video. Now they're indicating through Mr Budd's words on the ABC that they don't intend to do anything of the sort.
Regards
Fredrick Toben
ADELAIDE INSTITUTE
POBox 3300
Norwood
5067Australia
Tel: 61 8 8331 0808
Fax: 61 8 8332 2908
Email: fredadin@adam.com.au
Web:http://www.adam.com.au/fredadin/adins.html
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Thought for the Day:
"How do we deal with people who are clever enough to put their hate messages in a way that doesn't sound like hate?"
(Hedy Fry, Canada's federal secretary of state for multiculturalism, speaking about the Canadian / Oliver situation and Canada's Hate Laws.)