Feitz

Toben and free speech

After the Federal Court ordered Frederick Toben to remove material questioning the veracity of the holocaust from his website, Jeremy Jones - president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry who instigated the legal action against Toben - illogically said Toben's material did not stand up to any examination (SMH, 18/9/02).

Come again? If Toben's material doesn't stand up to any examination reasonable people might well ask why did the Executive Council of Australian Jewry worry about it to the extent of pursuing Frederick Toben through the courts? Why not let people judge Toben's material for themselves? Does Mr Jones think the majority of Australians are halfwits, incapable of evaluating the evidence?

The court's decision is a blow to free speech everywhere, not just in Australia. Why? Because according to Jones, the decision has provided a "useful precedent" and has "international implications" for the internet.

It's interesting that Jewish organisations have been at the vanguard of suppressing free speech in Australia. It was the Australia-Israel Review who published that notorious list of One Nation supporters under the heading, "Gotcha!" - a grossly intimidatory act if ever there was one.

It was the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission along with Community Aid Abroad who attempted to set up the vigilante RaceWatch campaign to encourage Australians to monitor the utterances of candidates and parties - ie One Nation - for a 'racism' which ludicrously even included the belief that migrants should assimilate into the wider community.

RaceWatch was a fizzer. Former Finance Minister Peter Walsh tartly questioned whether B'nai B'rith's "attention might be more appropriately directed to the Israeli Government's immigration policy and practice."

The level of hysteria that was whipped up in Australia over One Nation's 'racism' now seems embarrassing. A few years down the track most influential commentators admitted that One Nation wasn't racist but appealed to people whose legitimate concerns and grievances neither of the major parties would address. Even one of the Australian's greatest Hansonophobes - Greg Sheridan - finally admitted that the 1998 federal election had really been about globalisation, not race.

How hypocritical that while the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission's Executive Director was proclaiming that RaceWatch would prevent candidatesfrom playing the race card, simultaneously newspapers played it for all it was worth demonising One Nation as 'racist'. Worked like a charm too.

The Anti-Defamation Commission and B'nai B'rith also led the charge for the Victoria's unwanted Racial and Religious Tolerance Bill even though the Victorian Government was swamped with over 5500 public submissions, the overwhelming majority of which were opposed to the bill. The opposition covered a wide range of issues:-

the lack of any good reason for the bill
the threat to free speech
the threat to missionary activity
the subjectivity of the bill (if a person "feels" offended ...)
the fact that a third party could make a complaint
the refusal to consider motives
the refusal to allow truth as a defence
the draconian criminal penalties including fines and gaol sentences
the threat to freedom of association.

The Anti-Defamation Commission and B'nai B'rith freely admitted that peaceful groups such as the Australian League of Rights are in their sights as needing attention. Clearly these laws aren't really about protecting rights but harassing and silencing people.