Antisemites and holocaust deniers promoted & protected on Indymedia UK
I am writing to you concerning the question of anti-Semitism and holocaust denial being tolerated and condoned within UK Indymedia. I write both as someone who is Jewish and anti-Zionist. When I make an accusation of anti-Semitism I mean exactly that. This should not be confused with support for the Palestinians or opposition to Zionism.
As a founder member of British Palestine Solidarity Campaign I understand only too well the difference between Zionist accusations of anti-Semitism and the real thing. Unfortunately the Moderators of UK Indymedia are unable to tell the difference. see http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/tony_greenstein/2007/02/greenstein.html
Instances of administrative support for racist material
In April 2007 a controversy developed over the question of anti-Semitism and holocaust denial on UK Indymedia. http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-uk-features/2007-April/date.html
Then in November 2007 almost the same controversy arose again, with a set of totally new actors, with one exception. The same Indymedia moderator, FTP/Roy Bard once again emerged to protect anti-Semites and holocaust deniers from their critics and to ensure they were allowed to continue posting.
The present controversy arose over someone called Gilad Atzmon, an ex-Israeli, ex-Jewish jazz player who actively works with and defends holocaust deniers. He is both anti-Semitic and a holocaust denier. Atzmon also openly distributed Paul Eisen’s ‘Holocaust Wars’ a tribute to Ernst Zundel. http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-uk-features/2007-November/thread.html#start
The controversy started with one of the numerous articles that Atzmon has posted to UK Indymedia ‘Saying No to The Hunters of Goliath’, quote:
‘…the Jewish state and the sons of Israel are at least as unpopular in the Middle East as their grandparents were in Europe just six decades ago. Seemingly, it is the personification of WW2 and the Holocaust that blinded the Israelis and their supporters from internalising the real meaning of the conditions and the events that led towards their destruction in the first place.’ It also talks of the ‘Judaic world view’.
The idea that any form of racism can be explained by the ‘unpopularity’ of the victim is no more than a justification of racism. Was the extermination of gays and gypsies etc. also because of their ‘unpopularity’ as opposed to the Nazi terror regime? http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/08/378213.html?c=on
It is instructive that in his only response to the article below Atzmon doesn’t deny that he is anti-Semitic, far from it, he merely instructs people to ‘bounce back to your social Jewnity shetetle…’Gilad Atzmon | 01.15.08 – 1:50 am http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=1559#comment-35911
But although Atzmon is given free reign to post numerous articles, none of which are news and all of which are comment, the response to him was hidden because FTP disagrees with it!
None of the other UK Indymedia Moderators is prepared to stand up to him. In an e-mail of 25.1.08. (see below) he explains that his reasons for hiding a response to Atzmon were ‘breach of guidelines’ and the fact that he disagrees. Condemning anti-Semitism is now ‘obsessional zionist stylee character assassination’.
In the April 2007 controversy a Nim Chimpsky outlines the problem. One Nimmo describes the idea of gas chambers at Auschwitz as ‘discredited’. This is classic David Irving style holocaust denial. See http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-uk-features/2007-April/0424-k3.html
FTP leapt to the defence of Nimmo. ‘And I repeat, that is your interpretation – it is smear by innuendo, it is circumstantial evidence.’
We are asking you to show solidarity in opposing racism and the toleration of holocaust denial and anti-Semitism on Indymedia UK and to make your views known:
Thank you!
Tony Greenstein
Posted in Blog
