http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20861261-2682,00.html#
December 03, 2006
A RACE-HATE website operating from Adelaide has sparked a furious
reaction from Australia's top Jewish body.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry is considering further legal
action against Dr Fredrick Toben, 62, from Wattle Park, who runs the
Adelaide Institute website.
Dr Toben was the subject of a Federal Court directive in 2002 preventing
the publication of material that vilified Jews.
Despite the court ordering him to remove such material from his website,
anti-Jewish articles are still accessible from the site.
The Executive Council of the Australian Jewry says the statements made
on the website contravene the Racial Discrimination Act.
Council past president, Jeremy Jones, says the organisation is now
considering legal action.
The move follows a national report finding that physical attacks against
Jews have reached a record high.
The report, released by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry,
identifies 156 physical attacks against Jews in the year to the end of
September. The data, which has been collected on a national level since
1989, chronicled other attacks including arson, threats - via posters,
leaflets, email, telephone or sms - and vandalism.
In the 12-month period, there were 442 attacks.
Dr Toben's website was also flagged in the report.
"It is an ongoing concern and we are actively considering all options
open to us," Mr Jones said.
The 2002 ruling found that the website had published material which
implied some Jews had exaggerated Jewish deaths in World War II for
financial gain.
While Dr Toben has since published a disclaimer on his site outlining
the court-imposed restrictions, Mr Jones says the website's content is
still an issue.
"There has been quite a lot of anti-Jewish material published on that
site," he said. "Not exactly the same wording but the same kind of
material."
The website contains links to an array of anti-Semitic material including:
ARTICLES which question whether the Holocaust actually occurred.
CLAIMS that the death toll from the Holocaust has been exaggerated.
LINKS to another website blaming Jews for some of the biggest crimes in
the past century, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre
where 12 students were killed, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing which
killed 168 people and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
"The internet gives everybody a megaphone and a potential international
audience," Mr Jones said.
"And if one person - who would otherwise have had no reason to dislike
another human being - forms negative opinions because of something put
on a website, the racist might be quite happy but all the rest of us
have reason to be concerned," he said.
It is understood Dr Toben is overseas and he could not be reached for
comment.
December 03, 2006
A RACE-HATE website operating from Adelaide has sparked a furious
reaction from Australia's top Jewish body.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry is considering further legal
action against Dr Fredrick Toben, 62, from Wattle Park, who runs the
Adelaide Institute website.
Dr Toben was the subject of a Federal Court directive in 2002 preventing
the publication of material that vilified Jews.
Despite the court ordering him to remove such material from his website,
anti-Jewish articles are still accessible from the site.
The Executive Council of the Australian Jewry says the statements made
on the website contravene the Racial Discrimination Act.
Council past president, Jeremy Jones, says the organisation is now
considering legal action.
The move follows a national report finding that physical attacks against
Jews have reached a record high.
The report, released by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry,
identifies 156 physical attacks against Jews in the year to the end of
September. The data, which has been collected on a national level since
1989, chronicled other attacks including arson, threats - via posters,
leaflets, email, telephone or sms - and vandalism.
In the 12-month period, there were 442 attacks.
Dr Toben's website was also flagged in the report.
"It is an ongoing concern and we are actively considering all options
open to us," Mr Jones said.
The 2002 ruling found that the website had published material which
implied some Jews had exaggerated Jewish deaths in World War II for
financial gain.
While Dr Toben has since published a disclaimer on his site outlining
the court-imposed restrictions, Mr Jones says the website's content is
still an issue.
"There has been quite a lot of anti-Jewish material published on that
site," he said. "Not exactly the same wording but the same kind of
material."
The website contains links to an array of anti-Semitic material including:
ARTICLES which question whether the Holocaust actually occurred.
CLAIMS that the death toll from the Holocaust has been exaggerated.
LINKS to another website blaming Jews for some of the biggest crimes in
the past century, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre
where 12 students were killed, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing which
killed 168 people and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
"The internet gives everybody a megaphone and a potential international
audience," Mr Jones said.
"And if one person - who would otherwise have had no reason to dislike
another human being - forms negative opinions because of something put
on a website, the racist might be quite happy but all the rest of us
have reason to be concerned," he said.
It is understood Dr Toben is overseas and he could not be reached for
comment.
