HateWatch [UseNet header trimmed]
From: mkaufman@mailcity.com
Ingrid Rimland, in her Zundelgram of Jan. 5, writes, with some deletions
from only the introduction and her signature:
Please ponder the definition of a "hate group" carefully and decide where
such a definition applies - and what it says about whoever drafted it:
On this website, a "hate group" is defined as
Take just "unreasonable hostility." Why does Nizkor come to mind? The
Simon Wiesenthal Center? B'nai Brith? The ADL? The JDL? Who else?
Every Holocaust Promotion Lobby in the world! How many are listed on
HateWatch? How many Jewish websites, for that matter, compared to
Christian websites?
Marc Kaufman responds:
Ms. Rimland, you have listed above four organizations (the ADL is, in
fact, a subgroup of B'nai Brith). Should I detail for you why each group
you cited is or is not a hate group as per the definition from HateWatch
that you cite above?
Nizkor is not a hate group because it does not advocate violence in any
form, nor does it advocate hostility toward any particular race,
religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender, nor does it
disseminate historically inaccurate information with regards to the
aforementioned groups. You may argue that, in "lobbying" in support of
the idea that the Holocaust is an historical fact that Nizkor is
disseminating historically inaccurate information. Even if this were so
(which I will say for the record it is not -- the Holocaust did, in fact,
occur), Nizkor is still not maligning a race, religion, nationality,
sexual orientation or gender by taking this position. You may argue that
the group it is maligning is Germans. Nothing could be further from the
truth. The only group that Nizkor "maligns" is Nazis and anti-Semites.
Unless you are of the opinion, which I am not, that all Germans are Nazis
and anti-Semites, then Nizkor's position on the Holocaust cannot be taken
as a "hate" position given the above definition.
The exact same criteria may be used to disqualify the Simon Wiesenthal
Centre (SWC) from the above definition of a hate group. First, the SWC
has always eschewed violence and has chosen instead to bring Nazi war
criminals to courts of justice in the countries of their crimes, or in
the State of Israel. They don't gun down people in the streets. As for
the issue of hostility toward any particular race, religion, nationality,
sexual orientation or gender, or the dissemination of historically
inaccurate information with regards to the aforementioned groups, I would
again state that even though the SWC takes the historically accurate
position that the Holocaust took place, this position does not malign any
of the aforementioned groups. At the risk of repeating myself, the only
group that the SWC "maligns" is Nazis and anti-Semites. You may argue
that the group it is maligning is Germans. Unless you are of the opinion,
which I am not, that all Germans are Nazis and anti-Semites, then the
SWC's position on the Holocaust cannot be taken as a "hate" position
given the above definition.
On to B'nai Brith. As an umbrella organization, B'nai Brith is devoted to
the preservation and furthering of Jewish cultural traditions through its
many suborganizations. There is nothing violent about this point of view,
just as there is nothing violent about a German-American group (and there
are many) dedicating time, money and energy to the preservation of German
cultural traditions. The same goes for Irish-American, Italian-American,
Latino-American, African-American, Asian-American, and lesbian and gay
organizations. It is only when such a group -- for instance, some
factions of ActUp or so-called "German-American" cultural societies like
the NSDAP/AO of Gary Lauck -- advocates violence that they cross the
border into what may be perceived as a hate group, though I would not
exactly equate the NSDAP/AO and ActUp. As for hostility toward any
particular race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender,
B'nai Brith does not engage in any of these things either. In fact, one
need not be Jewish to be a member of B'nai Brith -- all races, religions,
nationalities, sexual orientations and genders are welcome to be members.
Again, at the risk of repeating myself, the only group that B'nai Brith
"maligns" is Nazis and anti-Semites in stating their belief that the
Holocaust was an historical event. You may argue that the group it is
maligning is Germans. Unless you are of the opinion, which I am not, that
all Germans are Nazis and anti-Semites, then B'nai Brith's position on
the Holocaust cannot be taken as a "hate" position given the above
definition.
Briefly, the Jewish Defense League *is* a hate group. It is outwardly
violent, both in the U.S. and in the State of Israel. It is
chauvinistically hostile toward anyone non-Jewish -- particularly Arabs
and very particularly Palestinian Arabs. Further, they are also openly
homophobic and sexist. As such, they fit the HateWatch definition of a
hate group and are listed as such at the site.
And yet again, not to belabor the point, promoting the belief that the
Holocaust took place is not inherently violent nor hostile to any of the
subgroups that HateWatch outlines in the above definition. It is only
hostile to Nazis and anti-Semites. You may argue that the group it is
maligning is Germans. Unless you are of the opinion, which I am not, that
all Germans are Nazis and anti-Semites, then the position of "Holocaust
promotion lobbies" on the Holocaust cannot be taken as a "hate" position
given the above definition.
A final note: There are, at present *zero* "Jewish" sites listed as hate
groups at HateWatch. Some groups (three, from my cursory look) are
controlled by Jewish interests or individuals, but these groups are not
following the Toraic rule to "love the stranger, for you were once
strangers in a strange land." Also, by my count, there are *zero*
Christian groups listed at HateWatch -- at least as I understand
Christian in the sense that Jesus defined it in the New Testament. He
never expressed any violent position, nor did he express hatred of
homosexuals, women, non-Jews (though he was Jewish), or anyone who did
not first bear a grudge against him (Romans, for instance). At even in
the case of the Romans, Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies.
In this sense, Jesus was thoroughly, by his own definition, thoroughly
Christian. Given this evidence, I can find no Christian hate groups at
HateWatch -- only hate groups masquerading as Christians.
Marc S. Kaufman
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Nizkor
© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012
This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and
to combat hatred.
Any statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.
As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may
include on this website materials, such as excerpts from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and
provides them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers of these pages to condemn racist
and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.
A Response to Ingrid Rimland
Subject: Response to Zundelgram of Jan. 5
Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998
The paragraph below comes from a website called "HateWatch", known
already to many of us, whose purpose is to label websites such as the
Zundelsite as "hate sites".
". . . an organization or individual that advocates violence against or
unreasonable hostility towards those persons or organizations identified
by their race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or gender
also including organizations or individuals that purposively disseminate
historically inaccurate information with regards to these persons or
organizations."
Associate, HateWatch
http://www.hatewatch.org/
The original plain text version of this file is available via ftp.