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Despite being wholly unrepresentative of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism or the Jewish people in general, many of the images of the widely condemned Iranian Holocaust Denial conference featured members of the Neturei Karta sect. The conference featured an unsavory variety of Holocaust deniers and anti-Semites under the false guise of promoting “freedom of speech”.

While some of the media may have given Neturei Karta unwarranted airtime and newspaper columns, the Jewish world has made it abundantly clear that this extreme fringe represents nobody but themselves.

The Satmar, the largest Ultra-Orthodox movement published an unprecedented statement calling on the public to disassociate themselves from those Neturei Karta who attended the Iranian conference, while Israeli Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger also called for a boycott.

British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks also condemned Neturei Karta, saying:

“Lest those unfamiliar with Neturei Karta take it to represent a significant strand within Jewry, it should be made clear that it is an extremely small and unrepresentative sect whose views are rejected by the overwhelming majority of Jews, religious and secular alike.”

HonestReporting urges subscribers to ensure that the media does not mislead the general public into thinking that Neturei Karta is the legitimate face of world Jewry despite this group’s existence far beyond the accepted and recognized framework of the Jewish people. Neturei Karta is definitely not Kosher.

“The Arab press has outdone Hitler’s propaganda,” Anti-Defamation League National director Abraham Foxman said Monday, noting that “a grotesque propaganda war which has reached a new dimension” had emerged from the war in Lebanon.

Foxman, speaking at an ADL press conference in Jerusalem, said the anti-Semitic material in the Arab press frequently depicts Israeli control over the UN, an irony noted by Foxman, who pointed to the UN support of Arab causes, particularly in the UN Human Rights Council.

Cartoon published in the Syrian A-Dustur

Over 100 incidents of anti-Semitism have been triggered by the war in Lebanon, Foxman said, and while there had been an increase in the US and Europe, the situation was not nearly as serious as in the Arab world.

“Conflict in the Middle East legitimizes anti-Semitic actions worldwide,” explained the ADL director. However, he noted that “if you over hype specific incidents, such as the attack in Seattle, the anti-Semites win because people will stop going to Jewish centers and institutions - it’s a delicate balance.”

Commenting on Germany’s potential role as part of the UN peacekeeping force, Foxman said that its participation “is still an issue.”

“The fact that one still needs to struggle with the issue is important, but at the end of the day I would like to see the Germans as peacekeepers,” Foxman said. He added that “it is important that there is an element of historical trauma. Jews and Germans will always have that shadow of history, but it’s healthy.”

[tag]Israel, ADL, Germans, Abraham Foxman, United Nations, Anti-Defamation League, anti semitism, propaganda, arab, nazi[/tag]