Lipstadt
is no friend of mine. I have many Jewish friends
but she is not one of them.
London, Friday, December 6, 2007 David Irving v
Deborah Lipstadt, Part 2 By Dana Gloger HOLOCAUST-denier David
Irving claims he is preparing to serve court
papers on the American historian he unsuccessfully
sued for libel in London's High Court eight years
ago. This week, the JC learned that the
discredited historian, who last year served part of
a three-year sentence in an Austrian jail for
breaching the country's Holocaust-denial laws,
emailed Deborah Lipstadt informing her he
intended to institute unspecified court proceedings
against her. He told the JC that this could only be done
while she was within the jurisdiction of the High
Court. When Irving found out that Prof Lipstadt would
be in the UK for a series of talks, he got in touch
with her. In an email dated November 30, which the
JC has seen, Irving, 69, wrote: "Please
inform me whether you will be available for service
of court proceedings, and make a suitable
appointment for this purpose; please also confirm
that you will take no steps to prevent court
officers from approaching you, and cause no steps
to be taken to prevent court officers from
approaching you on this occasion." In his 2000 libel case, Irving was branded an
antisemite by a judge after bringing the suit
against Prof Lipstadt for calling him a Holocaust
denier. He would not divulge
why he was planning to bring his latest
threatened action, but confirmed that they were
not related to libel. "There is something in the air, but I can't tell
you any more. For now it goes back on the shelf,
until she is back in the jurisdiction of the
British High Court and I can locate her." There were rumours on Tuesday night that Irving
would try to gatecrash Prof Lipstadt's talk at
Finchley Synagogue. But he said he had not tried to
go, as he knew he would not be allowed in. He added: "[Ms Lipstadt] is no friend of
mine. I have many Jewish friends but she is not one
of them." Although Irving said that Prof Lipstadt had not
responded to his email, when the JC spoke to
her, she said her solicitors, Mishcon de Reya, had
replied on her behalf. It is understood that an email was sent
confirming that anything served would be accepted.
Ms Lipstadt said: "His email came as a little bit
of a surprise, but he pulls these kinds of
things." In October, Irving threatened to sue the
JC for calling him an active Holocaust
denier. He has not carried out this
threat. -
David
Irving's Books
The
Deborah Lipstadt Libel action
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