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European Parliament bans refutation of Protocols

Wednesday, 13th June 2007

Not much manages to shock me when it comes to European antisemitism. This has.

A month ago, Emanuele Ottolenghi, the Director of the Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, sent a copy of The Plot to every MEP and their staff. It exposes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion for what it really is - an important task given that a version of the Protocols was published in French three months ago and was recently - briefly - on display inside the EU Parliament for sale.

Yesterday, Emanuele received a letter from the Parliament's official courier saying that they would not allow it to be distributed 'due to the nature of its content'. In other words, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion itself could be available for viewing and sale, but not a refutation of it. (And of course, by knowing what was inside the envelopes sent to the MEPs, the EP officials must be censoring incoming mail.)

Emanuele asked an explanation from the clerk who wrote to him, and got conflicting excuses: they don't allow advertisements; the book had religious content; it had no relevance with the Parliament's agenda; etc. Even if they were true, none of these excuses would be relevant. As Emenuele put it to me: "Ultimately, it was clear that he was barricading himself behind excuses, but they really minded the content itself of the book".

An appeal has been lodged with the Quaestor in charge, Astrid Lulling MEP (from Luxembourg). But after 24 hours, she has not even acknowledged receipt of the appeal.

It beggars belief that this is how the supposed democratic hub of the EU behaves. It is, in the view of the authorities, clearly fine for the Protocols to be displayed, but not ok for MEPs to read a refutation of one of the most vile antisemitic libels in history. You might think it appropriate that Ms Lulling is told how wrong this decision is, and how she must overrule it. Here is her email address: astrid.lulling@europarl.europa.eu

And they claim to believe in democracy and free speech.

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Joshua

June 14th, 2007 10:54am

You say that the Protocols was on display briefly. You don't tell us why it removed from display. If it was at the behest of EU officials then your argument that it is "clearly fine for the Protocols to be displayed, but not ok for MEPs to read a refutation of one of the most vile antisemitic libels in history" doesn't hold water. You also suggest that "by knowing what was inside the envelopes sent to the MEPs, the EP officials must be censoring incoming mail". This is almost certainly complete nonsense. It's far more likely that one of the many anti-Semitic MEPs brought it to the attention of officials. It's also quite possible that the EU doesn't want this work by Ottolenghi simply because it then might feel compelled to allow the Protocols back in. I actually believe they both should be openly sold. If I don't read Mein Kampf and the Protocols how in God's name can I know what is contained in them? Lookit, I'm the person who regularly refers to Europe as "the evil continent". I'm not even too sure that a nation like Belgium had any moral right to exist after the Holocaust. I just don't like lazy arguments, most especially when they are cobbled together by someone of your extremely high intellectual calibre. Incidentally, Astrid Lulling was one of the signatories to a letter to the EU and FIFA in June 2006 which demanded that President Ahmadinejad should not be allowed to attend the World Cup, inter alia, because of his denial of Israel's right to exist and the reality of the Holocaust.