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BY BERNIE FARBER SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 5:30 PM
Approximately 200 kilometres south of Calgary, the small town of Lethbridge, Alberta, has been in the news recently because of the Facebook ravings on the social media site of Anthony Hall, a professor at the University of Lethbridge.
Hall gives every appearance of being both a conspiracy nutter and a classic anti-Semite. Like his late Eckville, Alberta, neighbour James Keegstra, Hall has found a comfortable home amongst Holocaust deniers.
He has publicly embraced the ridiculous and obnoxious notions of Gerard Menuhin, who has purported to have proof that the Holocaust is a myth. He claims, "The Holocaust is the biggest lie in history. Germany has no blame for the Second World War."
In commenting on Menuhin's Holocaust-denial book Tell The Truth And Shame The Devil, Hall explained, "So, I'm reading that text and having to reassess a lot of ideas." He went on to say that the book is a "very dramatic re-looking at what happened in Europe in World War Two."
But wait - there's more. Like any good Jew-hater, Hall also engages in Jewish conspiracy theories.
In 2009, after giving speech at the University of Manitoba, Hall reportedly linked Israel's intelligence service, Mossad, with 9/11. He has also accused Jewish Zionists of attempting to discredit and demonize Islam through their control of Western media, and referred to former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke as a man who needs to be heard because of some "very astute analysis."
In late August, B'nai Brith exposed a hateful and genocidal anti-Jewish comment by one Glen Davidson that appeared on Hall's Facebook page.
It was about as bad as it gets when it comes to graphic anti-Semitism: the image of a man assaulting what appears to be an Orthodox Jewish man. Next to that photo a screed that might have made Keegstra blush.
It claims that there was never a Holocaust but should have been, and rest assured, there will be, adding, "I will not rest until every single filthy, parasitic kike is rounded up and slaughtered. The greedy hook-nosed kikes know that their days are numbered" It ends with a call to "KILL ALL JEWS NOW! EVERY LAST ONE."
Incredibly, when B'nai Brith informed Facebook about the offensive post, the company initially claimed it did not violate Facebook community standards. Those standards state, among other things, that Facebook will remove hate speech "which includes content that directly attacks people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin or religious affiliation, among other things."
The policy goes on to state that Facebook will "remove content, disable accounts and work with law enforcement when we believe there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety."
Following a backlash on social media, Facebook sheepishly admitted it had erred in its assessment and the post was removed. To the best of my knowledge, Hall was never moved to delete this post himself.
In a related twist, the combined efforts of B'nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs were unable to move the University of Lethbridge to take action against Hall. Yet Murray Watson, a religious studies professor at the Centre for Biblical Formation, elicited a strongly worded response to a letter he sent to university president Mike Mahon.
The response from Mahon reads in part: "The University cannot control what users do and say on social media channels. However, if we discover that such vile comments have come from a member of our University community, that individual will be subject to the appropriate disciplinary measures available to us."
This should serve as a valuable lesson, says Amanda Hohmann, national director of B'nai Brith's League for Human Rights. "Every year, upon publication of our Annual Audit Of Antisemitic Incidents, a contingent of detractors accuses us of saying the sky is falling," says Hohmann. "Content like this is proof positive that... anti-Semitism of a genocidal nature exists in Canada."
Bernie Farber is executive director of the Mosaic Institute.
news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto
http://www.winnipegjewishreview.com/article_detail.cfm?id=805&sec=2
[Editor’s note. This article was originally written in March 2009 but is being reposted now]
Dr. Anthony Hall gave the annual distinguished lecture sponsored by the Sociology Department of the University of Winnipeg on Friday March 6, 2009.
He delivered a paper he wrote entitled “BUSH LEAGUE JUSTICE: Should George W. Bush Be Arrested in Calgary Alberta to be Tried for International Crimes.? The paper covered many topics and is posted in its entirety on peaceallaincewinnipeg.ca.
Part of his paper was titled “Taking on the 9/11 Cover Up” in which Hall dealt with the events of September 11, 2001. In his paper, Hall says that “It is not hard to imagine the main arguments for the defense if… George Bush, Richard Cheney… and others… face their accusers in a proper court of law. At its base their defense would almost certainly lie in their contention that their county had been attacked in 2001 by an external enemy using tactics were so audacious and unexpected that the Islamic terrorists were able to penetrate the entire military-industrial complex as the huge national security apparatus.”
After the presentation, this reporter showed Dr. Hall an article that he had written which is posted on the internet on www.mtl1911truth.org. In that article, Hall referred to former Liberal candidate Leslie Hughes and acknowledged that there was a “factually incorrect point included in a paper she wrote in 2002. But then Hall went on to refer to the Israeli government, as follows:
“While [Leslie] Hughes was wrong in her details, she is far from alone in her more general position that many intelligence services had prior knowledge that something very drastic was about to happen in the days and weeks leading up to 911. One of those intelligence services was indeed that of Israel. The Israeli government’s understanding of the situation was almost certainly connected to the activities of an Israeli spy ring posing as art students especially in the Hollywood Florida region. (Anthony Hall, Hate Speech as Political Rhetoric: Stephen Harper and 911 in the Canadian Election of 2008)
On the bottom right corner of the menu bar on the above mentioned website where Hall’s article is posted there is a large swastika made up of bullets, the Israeli flag, the American flag, the British flag and another flag.
Immediately after the event, this reporter asked Dr. Hall if he was aware that his article was on the above website and showed him a photocopy of the swastika pictured in the photo.
He said “Yes, I know about that.” He said that the person who put that swastika on the site was Patrick Biron. When asked how to spell the last name, Hall wrote in this reporters notebook, the word “ Biron.” He said that he knew “Patrick” and “I’ve talked to Patrick,” and that he is a student that made a movie about Montreal, as the next terror attack.
Under the title of Hall’s article on the above mentioned website it says “Posted by Patrick.”
This reproter asked Hall why he had not asked to have his article removed from the website in order to dissociate himself from the anti-Semitic swastika. He replied “What is this McCarthyism?”
Prof Evelyn Schaefer at the U of W’s Department of Psychology told Hall that the swastika was very offensive and that that she was not at all pleased that Hall knew about this site and the swastika and had not asked to have his article removed.
He said “ This has nothing to do with me” and if she had a problem she should take it up with Patrick. He then admitted to her that he had taken no steps to remove his article from the website in order not to be associated with the swastika.
Outside the lecture hall, Sheryl Rosenberg, held in her hand a photocopy sheet with the swastika and said, Now you’ve seen this before?. He answered “Yes, I’ve seen it [the swastika] before.”
Rosenberg then asked “And you’ve seen it [pointing to the swastika] before in association with your name ?” Hall answered “I guess you could put it that way, yes.”
Rosenberg’s exchange with Hall was witnessed by Prof. Evelyn Shaeffer, Prof Steven Shipper, Judy Price Rosen and Samantha Loxton of the Jewish Federation, and this reporter.
When confronted by Prof Shaeffer and asked about the fact that he had done nothing to disassociate himself with the website and swastika, Hall responded, “I’m going to reflect on that concern. This is a terribly tough issue,” and he acknowledged “the Swastika is offensive”, although he added words to the effect that the right wing was trying to suppress the democratic left.
He also said that instead of being concerned with the swastika , “the Jewish community” needs to reflect on ‘“whether Leslie Hughes is really an anti-Semite?”
Hall said to both Rosenberg and Shaeffer “If I took a stand, if I was persuaded that I should make a point [and ask to have my article removed because of the swastika] would that make things better for you? Would that be helpful?
Both Rosenberg and Shaeffer told Hall that that was his moral choice. “It’s based on your moral conscience, not mine” said Shaeffer.
Hall also said that “I did demand that one of my articles be removed from the Facts not Fairies website because I found that site was terribly anti Semitic.”
After Hall’s lecture, this reporter asked who had introduced Hall for her name. She said she was Heidi Rimke, an Associate Professor at the department of Sociology, and she wrote her name and email address in this reporter’s notebook. When asked if she was the catalyst for bringing Hall in to speak, she said “yes”, as she knows him because both she and he were contributing writers to the International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, by Blackwell.
She also said “Let’s hope I have a job next week.”
Outside the lecture Hall, when shown the photocopy of Hall’s article on the website with the swastika, Rimke said “I don’t know anything about that.”
Leslie Hughes was also present outside the lecture hack while Hall was being questioned by Rosenberg and Schaefer.
In an interview prior to the event, Dr. Hall referred to Leslie Hughes in supportive terms and said “Leslie Hughes was essentially raped in the public square by the Liberal Party of Canada.” He made a similar statement during his presentation.
OTHERS REBUTS HALL’S COMMENTS ABOUT ISRAELI- GOVERNMENT
The website Black Rod, who is described as a citizen journalist in Manitoba says the following about Dr Hall in an article posted on Dec 28, 2008:
“The 911 Truthers are divided into two streams.
* A. The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks…were an inside job by the American government which wanted an excuse to launch a worldwide "War on Terror" that's really a cover for U.S. world domination.
*B. The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks… were planned by the Mossad to force the U.S. to attack Israel's enemies, which would further the domination of the world by the Jews.
In Conspiracy B, the Jews play a leading role. In Conspiracy A, they're supporting characters; they know about the terror plans, they warn the U.S., but their warnings are ignored by evil Republicans who want the attacks to succeed to justify their plans to rule the world.
Anthony Hall is a proponent of Conspiracy A, although it’s sometimes hard for the layman to tell them apart.
A sub-group of Conspiracy B argues that the Israeli spies posing as art students were actually spying on the terrorists who launched the World Trade Centre attacks, but they failed to warn U.S. authorities.”
Hall’s theory about an “Israeli spy ring” of arts students was de-bunked in a damning article in the Washington Post, “ Reports of Israeli Spy Ring Dismissed” by John Mintz and Dan Eggan on March 6, 1992. The article, which quotes a U.S. Justice Department official which made it clear that the idea of an Israeli espionage ring is no more than “an urban myth.
HALL v CANADIAN JEWISH CONGRESS
In an article Hall wrote published in Canadian Dimension on September 28, Hall asked if “Lesley Hughes is really a reprobate not fit to serve in the House of Commons?” (see A Clash of Conspiracy Theories: Reflections on the Decision to Disqualify Lesley Hughes from Running as a Liberal Candidate in the Canadian Election of 2008)
Bernie Farber, CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress [CJC] posted a comment on the Canadian Dimensions website after this article by Hall, saying:
“CJC does not know Ms. Hughes and has never claimed that she herself is an antisemite.
However, there can be no doubt that parts of the 9/11 conspiracy theory which she embraces is indeed antisemitic.
Her posting, which she has never repudiated, that Israeli intelligence warned Israelis (very often a code word for Jews) of the impending terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers so they could quietly evacuate in advance is a 21st century calumny against Jews. For us, it evokes a horrible dual canard that Israelis (Jews) are both somehow secretly conspiring to affect or control world events and that Israelis (Jews) are so callous that they left 3000 fellow human beings to be mercilessly slaughtered…. Can anyone deny that such a view is a rehashing of the vilest age-old antisemitic stereotypes?
Ms. Hughes is wrong-horribly wrong- for embracing this antisemitic garbage. ..”
Hall posted a response, to Farber, saying :
I think you do many Jews a great disservice by suggesting that ever man, woman and child so identified, both secular and religious, share a single position when it comes to the quest for 911 Truth. Your thesis is just as absurd as it would be to indicate that because George Bush and Stephen Harper share a common position and religion, all Protestants are in favour of 911 Cover Up (as you clearly are yourself)….
Farber further responded:
The innuendo… that the Mossad… warned their co-Religionists of a terrorist attack upon the Twin Towers and that Jews would quietly leave (even cancel leases) without informing others is preposterous and offensive. Anyone holding such views holds antisemitic views. Anyone who supports those holding such views supports antisemitism. I hope and pray you are not amongst them.