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Real History and Ernst Zündel deportation The Index to the Traditional Enemies of Free Speech Alphabetical index (text) Canadian Press Friday February 25, 2005 Canada rules German Holocaust-denier Zündel is security risk, should be deported back home By Beth Duff-Brown Associated Press Writer TORONTO (AP) Jewish activists Friday hailed a court ruling that allows Canada to deport German Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel to face prosecution at home.
Zündel, author of “The Hitler We Loved and Why,” has been held in a Toronto jail for two years while authorities determined whether he posed a security risk to Canadian society. Federal Court Justice Pierre Blais said Zündel’s activities were not only a threat to national security, “but also a threat to the international community of nations.” Zündel, a leading proponent of white supremacy, claims the Holocaust never happened.
In his 63-page decision released in Ottawa on Thursday, Blais called Zündel a racist hypocrite and said his Toronto home was a “revolving door” for some of the world’s most notorious white supremacists who have promoted violence and hatred against Jews and minorities. “It is time for Zündel’s plane to take off. This should mark a closure to the tireless efforts of many to bring Zündel to justice,” said Frank Dimant , right, executive vice president of B’nai Brith of Canada .
B’nai Brith and other Jewish organizations in Canada and the United States have for decades followed Zündel’s activities and intervened in the legal proceedings against him. “The impact of Zündel’s removal from Canada is significant,” said Len Rudner , national director of community relations for the Canadian Jewish Congress . “It’s an indictment of hatred, an indictment of violence.” Zündel faces prosecution in Germany for his neo-Nazi and Holocaust-denying activities.
Since the late 1970s he has operated Samisdat Publishing, one of the leading distributors of Nazi propaganda and since 1995 has been a key content provider for a Web site dedicated to Holocaust denial, according to the the Anti-Defamation League . German authorities told the Canadian Press on Friday that Zündel would be picked up and arrested as soon as he arrived back in his homeland. Zündel’s lawyer Peter Lindsay said he did not expect his client to be deported for another week or two.
He said the Federal Court told him that he would be given a chance to appeal to the Supreme Court. Zündel spokesman Mark Weber said Zündel was being persecuted for his personal beliefs. “The government case is based on pretext, innuendo,” Weber said by phone. “The judge cites no concrete basis that he is a threat to national security. He merely points out that Zündel met with people who, arguably, might be a threat to national security. That’s not a crime.
It’s a dangerous precedent and it’s a dangerous blow against freedom for Canadians.” Born in Germany in 1939, Zündel emigrated to Canada in 1958 and lived in Toronto and Montreal until 2001. Canadian officials rejected his attempts to obtain Canadian citizenship in 1966 and 1994. He moved to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., until he was deported