INTERNATIONAL CHUTZPAH AND FREE SPEECH

ED Noor: This photo, please feel free to enlarge it, is just SCREAMING for a humorous caption. I mean, look at these guys! What are they staring at? Uhm, what if they all had beans for lunch? Why do they lean together like that? Got a funny caption? Please share! No obscenity please.

PART ONE
WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS APPROVES RESOLUTION CALLING FOR CRIMINALIZING HOLOCAUST DENIAL     

The Ugly Truth
May 8, 2013

The resolution on anti-Semitism also calls countries where appropriate constitutional provisions exist to consider banning neo-Nazi parties.

ED MG: So, in other words, these same Jewish interests CONSTANTLY lecturing others on ‘free speech’ and CONSTANTLY warning of the dangers of ‘Islamic Shariah Law’ where people are punished for holding/voicing opinions contrary to the precepts of a certain religion are now calling for laws to be made criminalizing free speech/free thought as pertains the ‘holy of holies’ ~ meaning the Holocaust.

As one famous philosopher stated over and over when warning of Jewish power, ‘beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy and lying’

Haaretz

The World Jewish Congress approved on Tuesday a resolution that calls on countries around the world, “in particular those whose Jewish populations were decimated in the Shoah,” to outlaw the public denial of the Holocaust, and where appropriate constitutional provisions exist, to consider banning neo-Nazi parties.

The resolution also urges Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other national leaders and legislators in Europe to join the 125 legislators from more than 40 countries in signing the 2009 London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism.

The WJC decided to hold its Plenary Assembly in the Hungarian capital as an expression of solidarity with the local Jewish community in the city, who have been under threat of rising anti-Semitism ever since the extreme right-wing Jobbik Party won a relatively large share of the vote in the last election.

The WJC resolution, supported by hundreds of delegates from Jewish communities around the world, urges the Hungarian authorities “to take effective measures including by enacting and enforcing legislation, for the protection of all citizens and residents of this country, in particular vulnerable minorities such as the Roma and the Jews, against threats of violence, racist hate and insults and the denial of the Holocaust.” 

ED Noor: The plight of the Roma is tragic; however, the only time our dear friends speak of them is when they can use Roma victimization to their own benefit. Certainly little mention is made in Holocost tales of the Roma other than a passing mention.
.

On Sunday night, the Hungarian prime minister opened the Plenary Assembly promising to act more forcefully against anti-Semitism, although he did not specifically mention the Jobbik Party, which captured 17 percent of the vote in the 2010 election. WJC officials expressed disappointment with his speech, which to their minds lacked substance.

In the resolution, the WJC calls on Hungary

“to recognize that the ideology and the actions of the Jobbik movement and its subsidiaries, including the New Hungarian Guard, pose a fundamental threat to Hungary’s democracy, and that decisive action by all democratic forces against these contemporary expressions of extremism must now be taken.”

The resolution also expresses concern about recent signs of rising anti-Semitism in Ukraine.

Earlier today, the Plenary Assembly heard about a new legislative initiative in Greece, which promises a radical crackdown on anti-Semitism and other forms of racism in the country. David Saltiel, the head of the country’s Jewish community, who reported on the development, said the legislation will be submitted to parliament in the coming days, following the Easter holiday break.

According to the legislation, any individual or group that incites against or acts violently toward other individuals or groups “because of their racial origin, the color of their skin, their religion and/or their sexual preferences” could be punished with three months to six years in jail and be fined up to 20,000 Euros. 

The same punishments would apply to Holocaust denial and the National Socialist salute. The legislation also stipulates that if a parliamentary party chief is found to be in violation, public funding for his or her party would be suspended.

Supporters of Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party celebrating election results in June, 2012.

PART TWO
GREECE TO WEIGH ANTI-SEMITISM, HOLOCAUST DENIAL BILL

Legislation would not grant parliamentary immunity, which means members of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party could be imprisoned, and the party could be diminished.

By Judy Maltz

Haaretz

May 7, 2013

Budapest ~ A new legislative initiative in Greece promises a radical crackdown on anti-Semitism and other forms of racism in the country, David Saltiel, the head of the country’s Jewish community revealed on Tuesday. The legislation will be submitted to parliament in the coming days, following the Easter holiday break. 

The legislation was drawn up by Costas Karagouni, the Greek deputy justice minister, following consultations held with Saltiel, who serves as president of the Central Board of the Jewish Communities of Greece. Saltiel told Haaretz that he was able to convince Karagouni that the recent surge of anti-Semitism in the country threatened more than the future of the country’s Jewish community, most of which was wiped out during the Holocaust. 

“I explained to him that when we talk about anti-Semitism, it’s not only about the Jews, but also about democracy,” he said. “He understands that the situation today requires a change in legislation.” 

Saltiel noted, in an address to delegates at the World Jewish Congress on the final day of their three-day plenary assembly, that the legislation does not provide parliamentary immunity. This means members of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party could be imprisoned or otherwise punished if found in violation of the new law. 

According to the legislation, any individual or group that incites against or acts violently toward other individuals or groups “because of their racial origin, the color of their skin, their religion and/or their sexual preferences” could be punished with three months to six years in jail and be fined up to 20,000 Euros. The same punishments would apply to Holocaust denial and the National Socialist salute. The legislation also stipulates that if a parliamentary party chief is found to be in violation, public funding for his or her party would be suspended. 

The law applies to incitement that is done “publicly, orally or via the press or the World Wide Web.” 

Saltiel, who was elected on Monday as deputy vice president of the new WJC board, said he had good reason to believe that the new legislation would pass in the parliament. 

Golden Dawn, which started out as a neo-Nazi group in 1980, captured 7 percent of the Greek vote in the May 2012 election, drawing international attention. A public opinion poll conducted last month found it enjoyed 11-12 percent support in Greece.

Asked what the new legislation would mean for the future of Golden Dawn, Saltiel said: “As a democracy, we cannot ask to outlaw this party, but once this law is passed, if they do not obey the rules, they will pay the consequences. It is clear to me that once this law is passed, the party will be diminished.”