ZIONIST
REPORT ON REVISIONISM
Israel Information Service
Gopher Information Division
Israel Foreign Ministry - Jerusalem
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Topical
Section a. General Background --
1991-1992 (1) The world trend in antisemitic
manifestations was on the upswing in the
late 1980s and the early 1990s. Violent
antisemitic activity peaked in 1991, when
the Israeli monitoring agencies recorded
61 assaults and 106 violent incidents
against Jewish institutions, individuals,
synagogues, cemeteries, and memorials. The
explanation for this lies in several
events and processes that combined with
the basic 'loss of shame,, phenomenon, now
that two generations have passed since the
Holocaust. - (a) The aftereffects of the
collapse of Communism in the former
Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe
include the release of nationalist,
ethnic, and ultra-Rightist forces,
which had long held themselves in check
for fear of the Soviet regime. These
forces blame the Jews for the Soviet
occupation of their countries and the
crimes committed by the Communist
regimes. Communist forces, in turn,
have accused the Jews of responsibility
for glasnost and the downfall of
Communism. Both sides in this
ideological struggle -- the
nationalists and the Communists --
allege today that the Jews have been
the major beneficiaries of the economic
liberalization in the former Soviet
Union and in Eastern Europe, to the
exclusion of the majority of the
population.
- (b) In the Gulf crisis, various
extremist groups -- Right, Left, and
fundamentalist -- joined forces against
the American and Allied policy toward
Iraq. They believed that Israel,
Zionism, and the Jews lurked behind the
imperialist plot to attack Iraq and
take over the entire world.
- (c) The economic crisis in Western
Europe and the United States reinforced
extremists, mostly on the Right but
also on the Left, who blame the Jews
for the crisis and its
consequences.
(2) - (a) As it happened, 1992 (for which
a detailed annual summary has been
completed) was calmer than 1991 until
autumn, when a spasm of racist
xenophobia erupted in Germany. This
outbreak was marked by the desecration
of Jewish cemeteries and memorials, and
for this reason remains engraved in our
memory. As a matter of fact, the total
number of antisemitic incidents in
Germany in 1992 was no higher than
previously. Their character, however,
triggered outbursts of violence by
neo-Nazi forces in other countries.
Desecration of cemeteries and attacks
on community centers and individual
Jews proliferated in France, Sweden,
Canada, Hungary, Australia, and other
countries.
- (b) In 1992, Israeli agencies
gathered information on 48 attacks: 36
in Europe and Latin America and 12 in
the United States. This marked a
significant decrease compared with the
abovementioned 61 cases of assault
recorded in 1991, although this
decrease did not include the Eastern
European countries.(n.1) All in all,
1992 was no calmer than 1991 for Jewish
communities around the world. In terms
of violent incidents (category 6: an
increase from 106 in 1991 to 173 in
1992) and of venomous antisemitic
propaganda, antisemitism was actually
stronger in 1992, despite some success
in the struggle and the sensitivities
and protests of broad segments of
public opinion, chiefly in Western
Europe, against the upturn in racism
and antisemitism.
- (c) In Germany, the Government
acted vigorously against lawbreakers
and the public demonstrated en masse
against the neo-Nazi upsurge. However,
it remains to be seen how matters will
unfold in view of the grave employment
crisis in Germany.
- (d) The Yugoslav crisis and the
ethnic conflicts in the CIS (the former
Soviet Union) also threatened the
stability of large areas, and directly
or indirectly, the security of various
Jewish communities.
- (e) The ascendancy of radical Islam
in several Arab countries (Tunisia,
Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan), in
Judea-Samaria and Gaza, and in Israel,
coupled with Iran's willingness to help
any extremist Islamic movement and any
radical anti- Israel group, is a menace
to Jewish communities, either directly
or through the radicalization of nearby
local Muslim communities. The
perpetrators of ten of the 36 assaults
recorded in 1992 (including two in
North Africa and two in Turkey) were
Islamic or Arab, and such agents were
responsible for 21 of the 150 violent
incidents recorded last year.
b. Violent Incidents in the First
Half of 1993(n.2) (1) The level of antisemitic activity
recorded in January 1993 was still high,
pursuant to that of the last four months
of 1992. In January, a cell of the Turkish
arm of Hizbullah, evidently helped by
Iran, attempted to assassinate Jewish
industrial and public figure Jacques Kimhi
in Turkey, and 23 violent incidents were
recorded. (2) Through June, only six assaults or
attempted assaults were recorded around
the world, and in at least three of them
-- the murders of a Jew in Belarus and a
Jewish engineer and a physician in Latvia
-- it is not at all certain that the
background was antisemitic. (3) Between February and June, the
number of violent incidents recorded
decreased significantly, to an average of
13-14 per month. A total of 84 incidents
were recorded. However, several
characteristics of these incidents were
novel and deserve special mention: - a. Cases of stonethrowing at Jewish
institutions and synagogues increased,
evidently copying intifada
behavior.
- b. Many of the incidents involved
desecration of cemeteries and memorials
(21 cases). They occurred in many
countries, including some, such as
Finland and Russia, that had hardly
witnessed such incidents in the past.
Cemetery desecrations in Germany,
Sweden, France, and Argentina are
especially noteworthy.
- c. There were more attacks on
Jewish schools or schoolchildren, and
more telephoned or written threats
against schools.
(4) A large number of incidents
occurred in Australia, Germany, France,
Hungary, and Great Britain. The number of
incidents in South America, chiefly Brazil
and Argentina, also increased
recently. c. The Propaganda Front (1) Antisemitic propaganda gathered
strength during the period reviewed,
despite the efforts of authorities in
various locations to restrain it. (2) A novelty that turned up over the
past few months in several European
countries, Australia, and the United
States, was the mailing of antisemitic
propaganda to Jewish institutions and
individuals, or to individuals who wrote
letters to newspaper editors criticizing
antisemitic groups or defending the State
of Israel. (3) One special phenomenon, well known
from past experience, which has become
doubly important in view of legal measures
taken in European and other countries to
prevent the publication of neo-Nazi
propaganda, is the mailing of hate
material, in several languages, from the
United States to these countries, either
overtly or surreptitiously. Today, the
publications and colorful stickers of the
Nazi organization NSDAP/AO and the Liberty
Lobby are being circulated in all European
countries, South America, and Australia.
The freedom of speech provisions of the
United States Constitution make this
possible. Another technique of
disseminating reports and giving
operational orders is electronic mail,
which the neo-Nazi organizations in
Germany use efficiently. (4) Antisemitic brochures and articles,
which are sometimes published in
mass-circulation newspapers, have
proliferated in states such as Ukraine,
the Baltic countries, Hungary, Russia,
Romania, and Turkey, despite appeals to
the authorities. The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion and Mein Kampf
are readily obtainable in several
countries. (5) Articles with antisemitic barbs
have been proliferating in Arab countries,
especially Egypt and Syria. In Syria, two
new antisemitic books have been published,
and antisemitic writings have appeared in
official organs of the Baath Party.
Extreme Muslim groups in Europe (e.g.,
France and Great Britain) disseminate
antisemitic material, in books, pamphlets,
and cassettes including sermons by
well-known Islamic preachers. (6) In Iran, sermons delivered at
mosques or broadcast by radio in the past
few months have contained antisemitic
expressions, and the official newspaper
Al-Qian published a hate article. (7) In South America, racist skinhead
groups formed in the past year (in Brazil,
Venezuela, Peru, Chile, and Colombia),
adopting the symbols used by their United
States and European colleagues. (8) The expulsion by Israel of Hamas
leaders in December 1992 triggered an
anti-Zionist and antisemitic reawakening
among far-Left organizations and Arab and
Palestinian circles, in Europe and South
America, as manifested in newspaper
articles, defamatory graffiti in the
streets, and threats against Jewish
communities and prominent individuals.
Manifestations such as these surfaced --
for the first time -- in Central American
and Caribbean countries. In Paris, for
example, Arabic-language cassettes with
the sermons of well-known Islamic
preachers inciting against the Jews "based
on" quotations from the Koran, have been
circulated. The major themes in these
sermons are that the Jews are scoundrels
of long standing; a cowardly, malevolent,
and racist aggregate, controllers of
international banking and media, and the
augurers of the modernity and "Oriental
studies" that have besmirched the face of
Islam. (9) In the Middle East, fundamentalist
movements are gaining strength in Algeria,
Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, and Turkey. This
includes their terror units, some of which
operate outside the Middle East. Iran and
Sudan, the two countries in the region
that are presently controlled by
fundamentalist parties, freely provide the
region's fundamentalist movements with
material assistance and political backing.
They promote calls for jihad and encourage
the resulting terrorism. Iran and the
fundamentalist movements are expanding
their operations in the Muslim communities
of Europe, Australia, the United States,
and South America, exploiting the war in
Bosnia to boost their influence and
persuade the muslim communities to take a
militant stance against the West and
moderate Middle East regimes. d. Holocaust
Denial (1) One of the contemporary
manifestations of antisemitism is denial
of the Holocaust, facilitated by the
dimming of memory as the event recedes.
Holocaust denial takes place on two
levels. The low, grass-roots level is the
province of the neo-Nazis, who ridicule
the concept of the Holocaust in bluntly
worded leaflets, bulletins, wall graffiti,
and libels. The second, concurrent level
focuses on sophisticated activity meant
for intellectuals and academics. In
1990, Bradley Smith, the public
relations officer of the Institute for
Historical Review, developed the technique
of depicting Holocaust denial as a
legitimate opinion, no less weighty than
the views of Holocaust affirmers, and
accordingly entitled to equal status in
any discussion. Smith attempted to place
paid advertisements defending this "right"
in the student newspapers of many
universities, some of which agreed to run
the advertisements. (2) - a. The most prominent Holocaust
denier today is British historian
David Irving, the author of five
volumes of research on World War II.
[See Mr
Irving's response below].
Irving, who once argued that the
Holocaust had been carried out by local
commanders who acted without orders
from Hitler, has embraced the doctrine
of total Holocaust denial and
identifies with the neo-Nazis. In 1989,
Irving published the "Leuchter
report," an essay in which one Fred
Leuchter alleges that he examined
sections of cell walls from buildings
in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Maidanek and
found that they bore no traces of
Zyklon B gas. The response to these
remarks is that traces of gas could not
possibly be found after 50 years;
furthermore, this material is
water-soluble. (In 1991, Leuchter
admitted in court that he had merely
postured as an engineer; his university
degree was a B.A. in history).
- b. Irving travels abroad
extensively. He disseminated the false
doctrine of historical revisionism in
visits to Austria, Germany, Italy,
Spain, Australia, Canada, and the
United States. He recently sought to
make a video presentation in Australia
and New Zealand, but was not allowed to
enter these countries. In April
[1993], Irving, together with
other Holocaust deniers, participated
in a neo-Nazi demonstration in
Washington across from the Museum of
the Holocaust. In July, he took part in
a semi-secret international conference
sponsored in Bern by Roger Wuetricht,
leader of a Swiss neo-Nazi group.
Unfortunately, Irving's decision to
join the camp of Holocaust deniers and
neo-Nazis has not harmed his reputation
as a scholar. In 1992, the Sunday
Times commissioned him to decipher
and translate Goebbels, diaries. His
remuneration: 175,000 pounds
sterling.
(3) Another prominent figure among the
Holocaust deniers is Robert
Faurisson, a former professor of
literature at the University of Lyons who
even now holds the position of researcher
at the university, who has published nine
books and essays arguing, inter alia, that
the gas chambers could never have existed
and that the diary of Anne Frank is a
forgery. Faurisson has been prosecuted
several times, most recently in 1991. He
was sentenced and heavily fined under a
1990 law prohibiting denial of the
Holocaust. Faurisson, like Irving, is
active internationally and participated in
the demonstration across from the Museum
of the Holocaust in Washington and the
conference of Holocaust deniers in
Bern. (4) Another well-known Holocaust denier
in France is Henri Roques, who
earned a Ph.D. from the University of
Nantes in 1985 for a dissertation on the
non-existence of the gas chambers. The
French Ministry of Education nullified his
degree a year later. Roques edited the
Revisionist History Annual until it was
banned in 1992 under the law against
Holocaust denial. It had been hoped that
the trial of Rene Bousquet, chief of
police under the Vichy regime, would
enhance awareness of the Holocaust in
France and repudiate the lies of the
Holocaust deniers, but Bousquet was
murdered in May. Still awaiting trial is
Paul Touvier, former chief of police in
Lyons. (5) Ernst Zundel, a German
living in Canada, became famous for the
legal battle that his case elicited. His
activity consisted of dispatching booklets
on Holocaust denial by mail, to
destinations in Canada, the United States,
and Germany. In 1987, he was tried and
convicted for disseminating false
information and sentenced to thirteen
months in prison and three years,
probation. After protracted proceedings
including appeals and a retrial, Zundel
was acquitted in 1992 by the Canadian
Supreme Court, which struck down the law
against disseminating false information as
unconstitutional. Zundel, like the
neo-Nazis mentioned above, is invited to
Holocaust-denial events in various
countries. In April he participated in the
demonstration opposite the Museum of the
Holocaust in Washington. |
when
he donated his research files on the 1956
Hungarian Uprising to the Swiss Institute
of Eastern European Affairs. We wonder how
many other such lying documents are
skulking in government files?
write
to David Irving