WEBSITE HAS POSTING OF SIMILAR WORDING ON ANTISEMITIC POSTER AND MORE ANTISEMITIC COMMENTS-CAN THEY BE REMOVED? MATAS EXPLAINS

[Editor's note: This report is a follow-up to our previous report on the subject of Antisemitic Posters that appeared in downtown Winnipeg befroe Rosh Hahsana. Our previosu report is reprinted at the bottom of this new report ]

On the website www.topix.com there is a posting on September 9, 2012 by a person named "Follow Da money" that has wording very similar to the wording found on antisemtiic posters in Winnipeg that were posted downtown just before Rosh Hashana. Moreover, a number of the comments posted on Topix are also anti-semitic in nature.

"Is it only a coincidence that 10 of the eleven crooks listed are Jews? And this is only a partial list. Wow "

"Clear-headed people read the entire poster and put the title into its proper context.$hitler's List is a crude variation of Schindler's List, an epic war drama about a wily conman who wastes government money to build a useless factory to employ war captives who would otherwise be heading to Auschwitz."

Follow Der Money also adds "If someone from B'nai Brith wishes to complain about Jewish over-representation on $hitler's List, I invite them to do so."

Another comment by "observer" September 17, 2012: "like the winnipeg police don't have more important things to do(highest murder rate,highest personal crime rate)then pander to the upset feelings of the local jewish communities spoiled holy day."

Lubomyr Luciuk of the Ukrainian Canadian Civl Liberties Association wrote a leter to the Winnipeg Free Press published on p.A6 complaining about the Free Press editorial Re Rascist Outrage Editorial September 17.

Here is what Luciuk wrote as the opening sentence to his letter: "Does your anonymous "staff writer" have evidence providing that whomever distributed the allegedly antisemitic posters in Winnipeg are "...some of the same people who oppose the new Canadian Mueum for Human Rights? "

Notice that Mr Luciuk refers to the poster as "allegedly" antisemitic--as if the plain words themselves aren't sufficient to show antisemitism.

The Winnipeg Jewish Review asked David Matas, who is Co-chair of the Online Antisemitism Working Group of the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism led by the Government of Israel and Honourary Senior Counsel for B'nai Brith Canada, about what, if any, steps can be taken to have these antisemitic comments removed from the Topix website.

"I have taken a look at the terms of service of the host - Topix. They can be found at <http://www.topix.com/topix/terms> The terms of service say "We may remove any content for any reason".

"I will ask B'nai Brith directly to approach Topix directly to remove the poster. Topix has a page of frequently asked questions at
< http://www.topix.com/topix/faq#forums_post_removed> One question asked and answered is this: "Can I get posts removed from this site? The best way to have content reviewed for removal is by sending us a direct link to the content through our Feedback system, and our moderators will review the content for violations of our Terms of Service. To do this, click "Feedback" at the bottom of any Topix page and follow directions to send us a Feedback request." I will suggest that B'nai Brith follow this procedure.

"I will further ask B'nai Brith to ask the police in turn to approach Topix to make two requests. The Topix terms of service provide "You agree that Topix may access, preserve and disclose your account information and content if required by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (i) comply with legal process;" That means that the police can find out from Topix who posted the poster on their website. This would be useful investigation information for the police.

"The terms of service also say that "Topix cooperates with legitimate law enforcement". The police and the Attorney General should ask Topix also to remove the posting at issue here.

"The functioning of Topix itself is an issue which I intend to pursue in my capacity of Co-chair of the Online Antisemitism Working Group of the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism led by the Government of Israel. One can see the problems with Topix at this link
http://www.change.org/petitions/end-or-reform-topix-com.

"Many webhosts have have a provision prohibiting the hosting of incitement to hatred. MTS for instance the posting of material which is "threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, offensive, pornographic, profane, sexually explicit or indecent". See <http://www.mts.ca/mts/about+mts+allstream/privacy+and+legal/terms+of+use>

"Topix is headquartered in California. Facebook which is also headquartered in California has more specific terms of service than Topix. See <http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms> where Facebook states as part of its terms of service that "You will not post content that: is hate speech, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence".

"I am not completely happy with Facebook, because it construes hate speech in an overly narrow way, excluding Holocaust denial. Nonetheless, the terms of service are better than those of Topix. My own view is that, at the very least, the terms of service of Topix need changing to approximate more cloely what we see for many other hosts, including Facebook and MTS. I will ask the Working Group to approach Topix with this request.http://www.change.org/petitions/end-or-reform-topix-com.

"Many webhosts have have a provision prohibiting the hosting of incitement to hatred. MTS for instance the posting of material which is "threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, offensive, pornographic, profane, sexually explicit or indecent". See <http://www.mts.ca/mts/about+mts+allstream/privacy+and+legal/terms+of+use>

"Topix is headquartered in California. Facebook which is also headquartered in California has more specific terms of service than Topix. See <http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms> where Facebook states as part of its terms of service that "You will not post content that: is hate speech, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence".

"I am not completely happy with Facebook, because it construes hate speech in an overly narrow way, excluding Holocaust denial. Nonetheless, the terms of service are better than those of Topix. My own view is that, at the very least, the terms of service of Topix need changing to approximate more cloely what we see for many other hosts, including Facebook and MTS. I will ask the Working Group to approach Topix with this request."

In related news, Israel Ludwig, President of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg said in response to the antisemtic posters,“We are offended and deeply pained by the hateful posters that appeared downtown.

The Federation statement continued:

"This incident comes when we are on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, one of the High Holy Days.

"Singling out the members of the Jewish community, for no reason other than that they are of that community, is the kind of racism that we had hoped had abated. We are surprised that in this day and age, especially in a diverse and caring city such as Winnipeg, that “Jew-baiting” and remnants of the past hatred stays alive and is rekindled by vile and cowardly acts such this one downtown.

The business of the city is the business of the city. Voicing disagreement is a part of the democratic process. However, with the Hitler reference, we have something that goes beyond dissent: it wreaks of racism of the worst kind, the kind rooted in baseless stereotyping reminiscent of the antisemitism that led to the Holocaust and beyond.

"This incident is a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do to eradicate racism generally in our community and that all of us should be supportive of those who have to deal with this level of intolerance on a daily basis.
We are encouraged by the messages of support and concern we received from our friends in the community."

* The above story is a follow-up to our previous report on the Antisemitic posters which appears here for reference:

QUESTION FOR BARTLEY KIVES RE ANTISEMITIC POSTERS: HOW MANY ANTISEMETIC EMAILS DID YOU GET?

By Rhonda Spivak, September 15, 2012

Many of my readers are probably aware of the fact that police are investigating after antisemitic posters targeting Mayor Sam Katz and other Jewish Winnipeggers were plastered across downtown on Friday night.

I am posting a photo of this disgusting poster because I want to make sure that all of my readers have a chance to see it--and be shocked by it.

Readers of the Winnipeg Sun are able to see the actual poster on line by clicking here:

Anti-Semitic posters target Katz, Aspers, Shindlemans
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/09/15/toews-blasts-anti-semitic-posters

Readers of the Winnipeg Free Press are not able to see the poster. In an article entitled 'Police Investigating Anti-semitic Posters," The Winnipeg Free Press wrote that, "The Free Press is not publishing a photo of the poster or quoting directly from it in order to prevent the spread of its anti-Semitic smear."

Two different publications, two different approaches.

CBC News reported http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/09/15/mb-posters-winnipeg-120915.html that "According to a police news release, officers were dispatched after receiving a complaint around 9:30 p.m. CT Friday about "questionable or inappropriate posters" that had been put up in the downtown area." The police release did not include any images of the posters.

Note that the police press release does not identify the posters as antisemitic or a hate crime but as "questionable or inappropriate posters," a way of describing them that in my view clearly underplays the fact that the poster at its heart is extremely antisemitic. It is disheartening to learn that the police were unable in their release to call it as it is--antisemitic. That to me is as disturbing as the poster itself.

As Dr. Catherine Chatterley, founding director of the Canadian Institute of Antisemitism has written to the Winnipeg Jewish Review, just because the poster doesn't have the word Jew on it doesn't mean it's not antisemitic:

"The posters found in Winnipeg's downtown area on September 14, 2012 are extremely disturbing and reflect a mindset that is deeply antisemitic. The posters target and therefore threaten specific individuals by name by placing them on a kind of 'Jewish hit list.' They make explicit reference to Adolf Hitler and employ classic antisemitic phrases and imagery as cues to the reader, such as 'shady deals,' 'dirty money,' 'cabal of cockroaches.' Antisemitism is a deeply embedded cultural code in Western society. One can clearly communicate a hateful, conspiratorial, antisemitic message without using the word 'Jew' directly and that is precisely what these posters are designed to accomplish. They are also used to publicly demonize and humiliate these individuals as Jews (whether or not they are actually Jewish) and that is an outrageous and despicable act. The poster and its hateful message should be condemned in public by all principled people."

Bartley Kives has written in the Winnipeg Free Press http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/keep-anti-semitism-out-of-the-debate-169939316.html something which in my view makes this whole episode worse by disclosing that in reporting on recent events surrounding the Mayor, he started receiving emails from antisemites. Here's that he has written:

"I am a Jewish newspaper reporter who often writes critical news stories about a Jewish mayor. And in recent weeks, some of those stories included the mayor's friendship with the city's chief administrative officer, who's also Jewish."

"To a virulent anti-Semite, any connection between two Jews who have any form of public profile makes for fantastic source material. My recent work must be like catnip to a scumbag hatemonger with access to a photocopier and a roll of tape."

'So while I'm angered to see the old stereotypical libels re-emerge, I cannot claim to say I am surprised. I even told an editor and colleagues at other media outlets to expect this sort of garbage last week, after I started receiving emails from anti-Semites along the same conspiratorial lines."[emphasis added]

What I want to know is how many antisemitic emails has Kives received?

Did Kives report any of these as antisemitic instances to B'nai Brith Canada and if not why not?

Were there names of targeted individuals in these emails?

Is he going to show police those emails? Is there a way of identifying who those emails are from?

Is it usual for Kives to get antisemitic emails when reporting on stories that involve Jews?

It seems to me that the subject of antisemitic emails may well be a worthy topic for one of Kives's articles. Just how much is out there?

I sent an email to Kives today asking the following questions:

1. Can you tell me approximately how many antisemitic emails you have received recently?

2. Are those emails you can report to Bnai Brith or is there a Free Press policy that restricts your sharing them with anyone?

3. Would they be allowed to be shared with Winnipeg Police in investigating the matter of the antisemitic posters ?

He has declined to comment.

Here is the text of the poster:

$hitler’s List

Since Mayor Sam Katz was elected to office in 2004, hundreds of millions of dollars have been funneled from City Hall into the pockets of the following people, primarily through untendered contracts and shady land deals.

$hitler’s List

Sam Katz

Robert Akman

David Asper

Gail Asper

Leonard Asper

Earl Barish

Brian Knepper

Richard M. Leipsic

Phil Sheegl

Robert Shindleman

Sandy Shindleman

Arni Thorsteinson

David Wolinsky

The gross misconduct of the Mayor’s office & City Hall has gone on for too long. Firegate is the final straw that will break their backs.

Once the harsh lights of scrutiny of the Auditor General and the RCMP are turned towards City Hall, Sam Katz will be facing hard time at Stony Mountain and his cabal of cockroaches will be clutching their dirty money and running for cover.