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Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Free Irving

The Moose comments on the gates of Vienna.

The Moose has never been enthusiastic about hate speech statutes. They rarely have the intended effect and they diminish free speech. That is why he opposes the type of punishment imposed upon David Irving in Austria for his Holocaust denial speech.

Anti-semitism is alive and kicking in Europe but it is not the result of actions of cranks like Irving. The locus of Jew-hating comes largely from the immigrant Muslim population. The most horrific example of Islamist anti-Semitism is the torture-murder of Ilan Halimi in Paris. After first denying that his death was just another street crime, the French political establishment came to see what it for what it was - an explicit murder of a Jew inspired by Islamist ideology.

All of Europe and indeed the West is under assault by the Jihadists who attempt to impose Sharia order and roll back the freedom of the West. Far more important than hate speech laws are leaders standing steadfast in defense of Western values. Yet, our leaders are bending over backwards to appease radical Islamist sensibilities rather than confronting the evil.

If Europe wants to be serious about confronting anti-semitism, she will take a firm stance against the Islamist attempt to push back the frontier of freedom. She will embrace Denmark against the cartoon jihad. She will hold firm against financing Hamas. She will force Iran to relinquish her nuclear ambitions.

The Moose, however, is skeptical that Europe will soon reverse course from its course of appeasement of evil. Already, the EU is rushing in to bail out the Palestinians who have opted for the leadership of terror. Yes, the argument will be that this is humanitarian aid. But money is fungible and "humanitarian" in the eyes of Hamas is the suicide bomb belt to kill and maim Israelis.

In the past year, Europe has received a wake-up call about radical Islam. Riots in France, bombings in London and the Jihad against Denmark are all indications that Europe must stiffen its resolve against this foe. A hate speech statute, however, is not the solution.

A renewal of Western values is.
-- Posted at 8:14 AM | Link to this post | Email this post