 Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, July 23, 2004
[Write to the NZ Herald's Editor:
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]  David
Irving comments: ONCE again the
Herald has ignored a Reader's
Letter sent by me yesterday, July 22,
correcting misapprehensions. Here are some
more observations. 
It may surprise New Zealanders that
Prof Bing is suddenly so well
informed about individuals and events of
ten or fifteen years ago in distant
Europe.
Let him deny that he has
now been supplied with a smear package by
his central body in New York, the
Anti-Defamation League, the ADL,
as predicted in our FAQ
last week. Every Kiwi media outlet down to
the local parish newsletter will also get
the ADL dossier. Smear, and deny a chance
to appear or reply: if that fails, send in
the Spectres, the Apaches, and the 82nd
Airborne.
Let's get real.
The "criminal offence"
which triggered the avalanche of bans and
deportations was committed when I uttered
these words in 1990 in a Munich speech:
"We now know that the gas chamber shown
to the tourists in Auschwitz is a
fabrication, built after the war." For
that remark (alone) I was fined NZ$50,000,
and in 1993 excluded from Germany in
perpetuity.
In 1995 the Auschwitz
state museum authorities conceded
that the building in question was erected
in 1948.
Free speech is not a
criminal offence in New Zealand. If Dov
Bing thinks that Germany somehow has the
right to define what people may think and
say in other countries around the world,
and who may travel and who may not, may I
remind him that the events of 1939-1945
put an end to that notion.
As for the complaint
that the press has not cited Judge Gray's
comments, let me cite a few
more here that he made -- you won't
see them anywhere else, if this NZ
academic has his way:
"As a military historian, Irving has
much to commend him. For his works of
military history Irving has undertaken
thorough and painstaking research into the
archives.
He has discovered and
disclosed to historians and others many
documents which, but for his efforts,
might have remained unnoticed for
years.
It was plain from the
way in which he conducted his case and
dealt with a sustained and penetrating
cross-examination that his knowledge of
World War 2 is unparalleled.
His mastery of the
detail of the historical documents is
remarkable. He is beyond question able and
intelligent.
He was invariably quick
to spot the significance of documents
which he had not previously seen.
Moreover he writes his
military history in a clear and vivid
style. I accept the favourable assessment
by Professor Donald C Watt and Sir
John Keegan of the calibre of
Irving's military history." |
David Irving's
visit 
I WAS asked by your reporter if David Irving
had planned to visit New Zealand deliberately to
make use of the
passport affair. I
indicated that it was clear from Mr. Irving's
website
that this was not the case. When asked the reasons
I opposed the Irving visit, I made these
points:
The Immigration Act of 1967 indicates that
people who have been conducted of criminal offences
or have been deported from as country will not be
allowed to enter New Zealand. Mr Irving was
convicted
in Germany for  defaming
the memory of the dead (Holocaust denial) in 1990.
In Germany this is a criminal offence. He was
deported
from Canada in November 1992 and has been refused
entry into Italy, South Africa and Australia. In April 2000 he lost a libel
case against historian Deborah Lipstadt.
Mr Justice Gray stated in his judgment
that Mr. Irving was "anti-Semitic, racist and an
active Holocaust denier and for his ideological
reasons persistently and deliberately manipulated
historical evidence." It would have been a more
balanced article if your report had cited these
statements. Dov
Bing,
president,
New Zealand Jewish Association 
David Irving says:
"HERE'S a thought, Dov: how long before
you pull up your roots and flee to Israel
along with other NZ academics
who find the ground getting too hot under
their feet? From what I see in the recent
NZ press, there would be an almighty cheer
from ordinary people if you went. Do you
ever ask yourself if folks like you are to
blame for all the anti-Semitism that is
welling up around the world? Do you?" |
BRAVO
for the Herald supporting free speech for
David Irving while denouncing his erroneous and
racist views. Let him come but let us take the
opportunity to correct his distortions of history.
The Herald is in a unique position to do just
this. Chris Sullivan,
Pakuranga. [Write to the NZ Herald's
Editor:
] [Presumably the NZ Herald does not
claim copyright in the above letters] 
Dossier:
attempts by New Zealand Jews to stop David Irving's
2004 visit
FAQ:
Answers to frequently asked questions about the
visit |
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Irving