From: Paul Kneisel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [pttp] The Internet Anti-Fascist: Frid, 14 December 2001 -- 5:102
(#630)
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The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 14 December 2001
Vol. 5, Number 102 (#630)
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Book/Movie/TV Reviews
01) Veselin Zhelev (AP), "'Mein Kampf' Published in Bulgaria," 11 Dec 01
News On the Anthrax Issue
02) Rick Weiss and Susan Schmidt (Washington Post), "Anthrax said
genetically traced to USAMRIID," 16 Dec 01
03) Scott Shane (Baltimore Sun), "Army-Produced Anthrax Matches Spores
in Attacks, Sources Say Probe: Bacterium from Utah facility has not
been linked to tainted mail," 12 Dec 01
News Involving the J.D.L.
04) Linda Deutsch (AP), "JDL Chairman Accused of Bomb Plot," 12 Dec 01
05) Sarah Tippit (Reuters), "Jewish Militant Arrested in L.A. Bomb
Plot," 12 Dec 01
06) Jewish Defense League, "Special Message," n.d., d.l. 16 Dec 01
07) World Church of the Creator, "JDL Chairman Irv Rubin Arrested On
Plot to Blow Up Bosques: Anti-Jewish Leader Rev. Matt Hale Praises
Arrest As A 'Great Blow Against Terrorism'," 12 Dec 01
08) Douglas Wertheimer (Chicago Jewish Star), "JDL Could Play Critical
Role in Racist's Lawsuits: Matt Hale's Jewish Lawyer Focused on
Constitutional Rights," 12-25 Jan 01
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BOOK/MOVIE/TV REVIEWS
01) 'Mein Kampf' Published in Bulgaria
Veselin Zhelev (AP)
11 Dec 01
SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Adolf Hitler's autobiography has been published legally
for the first time in Bulgaria, and vendors say it is selling well in a
country where anti-Jewish sentiment is traditionally low.
"Mein Kampf" has not been publicly available in Bulgaria until now because
it lacked two legal requirements: a critical preface stating the book is
anti-Semitic and the name of a publisher.
Bulgaria was the only Nazi ally to save its Jewish citizens. Despite a
deportation order of the pro-German government in the spring of 1943,
Bulgaria's King Boris III rescinded the decree after a deluge of protests
and appeals from lawmakers, clergymen and intellectuals.
Even now, the right-wing skinhead gangs targeting Jews and other minorities
elsewhere in the former communist parts of Europe are relatively rare in
Bulgaria.
The book, which details Hitler's anti-Semitic thinking, has been the
subject of a major advertising campaign since it came out last week, though
it's unclear by whom. Hundreds of posters showing a glaring Hitler in full
uniform festoon downtown walls. The publisher, Zhar Ptitsa, maintains it is
not behind the campaign, and there are no groups publicly promoting the
book.
Sales figures on the book were unavailable, but it does appear to be a hot
item; it's price has jumped from about $7 to about $12, a tenth of the
average monthly salary.
"Sales are going well," Nikolai Stoilov, a vendor at the city's downtown
open-air book market, said Tuesday.
Some countries in the region have forbidden publication of "Mein Kampf" on
grounds it could fuel racial hatred. An attempt to sell it a year ago was
halted by Bulgarian police, who confiscated hundreds of copies because they
did not carry the name of a publisher.
That problem is gone, and the book now also carries a preface stating that
the book, while anti Semitic, has historical value.
"This is a racist and anti-Semitic book and I have said this in the
preface," said history professor Milen Semkov. "But it is also a document
of its time and therefore it has to be read."
Jewish leaders in Sofia said they did not object to the book's publication.
"This book is part of the human history and it has to be read," said Emil
Kalo, the leader of Shalom, the most influential organization of Bulgaria's
5,000 Jews.
But he criticized the "unusually costly advertising campaign," and called
the posters "clearly fascist propaganda."
Still, most people buying the book Tuesday appeared driven by curiosity.
"I bought it out of curiosity," said Manol Stoyanov, a 35-year-old
businessman, fingering the copy he had just purchased. "Forbidden fruit,
you know."
Capitol Hill Anthrax Matches Army's Stocks
5 Labs Can Trace Spores to Ft. Detrick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS ON THE ANTHRAX ISSUE
02) Anthrax said genetically traced to USAMRIID
Rick Weiss and Susan Schmidt (Washington Post)
16 Dec 01
Genetic fingerprinting studies indicate that the anthrax spores mailed to
Capitol Hill are identical to stocks of the deadly bacteria maintained by
the U.S. Army since 1980, according to scientists familiar with the most
recent tests.
Although many laboratories possess the Ames strain of anthrax involved in
this fall's bioterrorist attacks, only five laboratories so far have been
found to have spores with perfect genetic matches to those in the Senate
letters, the scientists said. And all those labs can trace back their
samples to a single U.S. military source: the U.S. Army Medical Research
Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Md.
"That means the original source [of the terrorist material] had to have
been USAMRIID," said one of the scientists.
Those matching samples are at Fort Detrick; the Dugway Proving Ground
military research facility in Utah; a British military lab called Porton
Down; and microbial depositories at Louisiana State University (LSU) and
Northern Arizona University. Northern Arizona University received its
sample from LSU, which received its sample from Porton Down. Dugway and
Porton Down got their samples directly from USAMRIID.
In another development yesterday, government health officials said they
planned to recommend that about 3,000 people who were exposed to anthrax,
including hundreds of Washington postal and Capitol Hill workers, be
offered an experimental vaccine as a precaution in case antibiotic
treatment alone failed to protect them from getting sick.
The FBI's investigation into the anthrax attacks is increasingly focusing
on whether U.S. government bioweapons research programs, including one
conducted by the CIA, may have been the source of deadly anthrax powder
sent through the mail, according to sources with knowledge of the probe.
The results of the genetic tests strengthen that possibility. The FBI is
focusing on a contractor that worked with the CIA, one source said.
But it remains unknown which lab may have lost control of the material that
apparently ended up in terrorist hands. One of the two scientists familiar
with the genetic testing, who has been advising the government on the
anthrax scare, said investigators still know little about security at
Porton Down, though they have no reason to suppose it has been inadequate.
Of the domestic labs, Dugway has attracted the most attention from the FBI,
he said.
Dugway is also the only facility known in recent years to have processed
anthrax spores into the powdery form that is most easily inhaled.
Scientists have known for some time that bacteria used in the terrorist
attacks belong to the Ames strain, a variant of the anthrax bacterium,
Bacillus anthracis, that was first isolated from a cow in Iowa and has been
under study by military scientists for decades. But the Ames strain comes
in various subtypes that can be distinguished from one another by detailed
tests on the microbe's genes.
The genetic fingerprinting finding was made by a research team led by
geneticist Paul Keim at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, which has
been comparing the Ames strain bacteria found in the Senate letters to
other Ames strain samples retrieved from nature and from various university
and government laboratories.
"That's good detective work in the sense of determining the origins; this
will narrow the search for the people who had access to the strain," said
Jennie Hunter-Cevera, a microbiologist and president of the University of
Maryland Biotechnology Institute.
Other experts were cautious, noting that it is possible that the exact
subtype of the Ames strain could have originated elsewhere -- perhaps even
isolated from animals or soil in the wild.
"It's an important finding but it's not one of those things that says,
'Aha!' " said Richard Spertzel, a former director of the U.N. biological
weapons team in Iraq.
The scientists are still planning to do genetic testing on anthrax bacteria
from the Defense Research Establishment Suffield, a Canadian military
research facility, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and the
Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, a government contractor
doing research on anthrax vaccines. Those are the only other facilities
known to have received samples from USAMRIID.
The researchers also plan to test samples obtained from nature, and from
other university labs known to have the Ames strain to see if any others
match. But of the few such samples that have been tested so far none has
matched the spores used by the terrorists. In addition, the researchers
want to examine other characteristics of the samples, such as proteins,
carbohydrates and other substances in the material.
"If there's also a telltale piece or trace of nutrients or chemicals that
show the process, that's even better. You start adding the pieces and go
from tentative to confirmative," Hunter-Cevera said.
The CIA's biowarfare program, which was designed to find ways to defend
against bioterrorists, involved the use of small amounts of Ames strain, an
agency spokesman said yesterday. The CIA declined to say where its Ames
strain material came from. The spokesman said, however, that the CIA's
anthrax was not milled into the volatile power form found in the letters
and that none of it is missing.
Nevertheless, the FBI has turned its attention to learning more about the
CIA's work with anthrax, which investigators were told about by the agency
within the past few weeks, government officials said. The CIA has tried to
develop defenses against a vaccine-resistant strain of anthrax reportedly
developed by the Russians several years ago.
While the CIA has had small amounts of Ames strain anthrax in its labs to
"compare and contrast with other strains," a spokesman said, the agency did
not "grow, create or produce the Ames strain." The anthrax contained in the
letters under investigation "absolutely did not" come from CIA labs, the
spokesman said.
He also said that the FBI is fully aware of the CIA's work with anthrax and
suggested investigators were satisfied with the information they had been
provided. Law enforcement sources, however, said the FBI remains extremely
interested in the CIA's work with anthrax, with one official calling it the
best lead they have at this point. The sources said FBI investigators do
not yet know much about the CIA program.
Both law enforcement and intelligence officials said the CIA is cooperating
with the FBI probe.
Investigators are considering a wide range of possible motives for the
anthrax attacks, including vengeance of some sort, profiteering by someone
involved in the anthrax cleanup business, or perhaps an effort by someone
to cast blame on Iraq, which has an extensive bioweapons arsenal. Whoever
sent the letters could have a strong scientific background, officials said,
but they also believe the material could have been stolen and mailed by
someone without such expertise.
A law enforcement source said the FBI did not initially include the CIA on
its list of labs working with anthrax because the agency was not among 91
labs registered with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
to transfer anthrax specimens. But as investigators interviewed workers at
those known labs, they learned of the CIA's work, and in the past few weeks
posed questions about it to the agency.
CIA scientists worked with other government agencies and outside
contractors in the defensive biowarfare program, the agency spokesman said.
The agency said most of its defensive work involves simulants, not active
biological agents.
"Everything we have done is appropriate and necessary and consistent with
our treaty obligations," he said, adding that congressional oversight
committees, along with the National Security Council staff, has been kept
abreast of the CIA lab work. "One of our missions is to learn about
potential biological warfare threats," he said, adding that research can
involve "anthrax and other biological agents."
- - - - -
03) Army-Produced Anthrax Matches Spores in Attacks, Sources Say Probe:
Bacterium from Utah facility has not been linked to tainted mail.
Scott Shane (Baltimore Sun)
12 Dec 01
Since the early 1990s, U.S. Army scientists at Dugway Proving Ground in
Utah have made small quantities of weapons-grade anthrax that is virtually
identical to the powdery spores used in the bioterrorist attacks that have
killed five people, government sources say.
Until the anthrax attacks led to tighter security measures, anthrax grown
at Dugway was regularly sent by FedEx to the Army's biodefense center at
Fort Detrick, Md.,where the bacteria were killed using gamma radiation
before being returned to Dugway for experiments.
The anthrax was shipped in the form of a coarse paste, not in the far more
dangerous finely milled form, according to one government official. Most
anthrax testing at Dugway is done using the killed spores to reduce the
chance of accidental exposure of workers there. But live anthrax, milled to
the tiny particle size expected on a battlefield, is needed for some
testing, the sources say.
Dugway's production of weapons-grade anthrax, which has never before been
publicly revealed, is apparently the first by the U.S. government since
President Nixon ordered the U.S. offensive biowarfare program closed in
1969. Scientists familiar with the anthrax program at Dugway described it
to the Baltimore Sun on the condition that they not be named.
Dugway's weapons-grade anthrax has been milled to achieve a concentration
similar to that sent in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle,
according to a source. The strain found in those letters is
indistinguishable from that used most often by Dugway.
No evidence linking the Dugway anthrax to the attacks has been made public,
and there may well be none. Army officials say the anthrax has long been
protected by multiple security measures.
The FBI has extensively questioned Dugway employees who have had access to
anthrax and investigators are taking a hard look at the facility's anthrax
program, according to people familiar with the investigation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS INVOLVING THE J.D.L.
04) JDL Chairman Accused of Bomb Plot
Linda Deutsch (AP)
12 Dec 01
LOS ANGELES -- The chairman and another member of the militant Jewish
Defense League were charged Wednesday with plotting to blow up a Los
Angeles mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman.
JDL chairman Irv Rubin, 56, and Earl Krugel, 59, were arrested Tuesday
night after explosive powder, the last component of a bomb, was delivered
to Krugel's home by a longtime JDL member who had turned federal informant,
U.S. Attorney John Gordon said.
Other bomb components and weapons were seized at the home.
Authorities said the two planned to bomb the King Fahd Mosque in Culver
City and the San Clemente office of freshman Rep. Darrell Issa (news - bio
- voting record), R-Calif.
Rubin and Krugel were charged in a federal criminal complaint with
conspiracy to destroy a building by means of an explosive, which carries up
to five years in prison, and possession of a destructive device related to
a crime of violence, which carries a 30-year mandatory sentence.
"If you cross the line from lawfully expressing your political or religious
belief to committing violent acts then you will likely end up facing
federal prosecution," Gordon said.
It was not immediately clear when the alleged plot began or what prompted
it.
But in court papers, authorities said Krugel was secretly taped duri the
1980s. A power struggle ensued, with Rubin among the contenders for its
leadership.
Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990. El Sayyid Nosair, 36, an
Egyptian-born Muslim, was convicted in connection with the shooting.
The JDL claims to have 13,000 members, but experts say it may have only few
dozen active members.
Rubin has made a career out of confrontation, challenging white
supremacists to fistfights, or burning a Confederate flag outside a
courthouse. By his own count he has been arrested more than 40 times. In
1980, he was tried and acquitted of soliciting the murders of Nazis in the
United States.
A lawsuit filed by Rubin resulted in a court decision last year banning
prayer during Burbank City Council meetings.
Maher Hathout, a senior adviser for the Los Angeles chapter of the Muslim
Public Affairs Council, said the arrests sent an encouraging message to the
Muslim community.
"We can easily develop an attitude that (federal authorities) are out to
get us," he said. "But it seems they are out to get anyone who breaks the
law."
- - - - -
05) Jewish Militant Arrested in L.A. Bomb Plot
Sarah Tippit (Reuters)
12 Dec 01
LOS ANGELES -- The chairman of the militant Jewish Defense League and a
follower have been arrested in an alleged plot to bomb a major Los Angeles
area mosque and the office of a Republican California congressman, among
other targets, federal officials said on Wednesday.
JDL Chairman Irv Rubin, 56 and group member Earl Krugel, 59, who were
arrested on Tuesday night, were charged with conspiring to bomb the King
Fahd Mosque in Culver City, a Los Angeles suburb; the offices of Southern
California Congressman Darrell Issa, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants;
and the Muslim Public Affairs Council office in the Mid-Wilshire section of
Los Angeles.
"Last night's arrests confirm that we meant what we said: if you cross the
line from expressing your political or religious beliefs to committing
violent acts against those whose beliefs are offensive to you, then you
will likely end up facing federal prosecution on charges carrying extremely
long prison sentences," said John Gordon, U.S. Attorney for California's
Central District.
The two men face one count each of conspiring to destroy a building by
means of an explosive and possession of a destructive device during and in
relation to a violent crime, according to an affidavit filed in the U.S.
District Court in Los Angeles. If found guilty they could each face a
minimum of 35 years in prison. A bail setting hearing was scheduled for
Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles federal court.
THIRD MAN TURNED INFORMER
Officials said the two men plotted with a third, a former JDL member, to
make and detonate bombs. The third man, who was approached last October,
informed authorities of the plot, officials said. No bombs were detonated
and no one was injured.
A complaint against the two men said that Krugel told the informant the
bombings were necessary because "Arabs need a wake-up call." Additional
comments were made at a meeting by Rubin that the JDL needs to let people
know they are "alive in a militant way."
The complaint added that the unnamed source was asked to photograph the
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) offices and help buy bomb components
and that Krugel said he would build the bombs at his residence. The source
would then place the explosives at the MPAC office.
The MPAC, which also has a Washington, D.C. office, describes itself as a
public service agency working for the civil rights of American Muslims.
When the source asked Krugel about dangers to human beings should the bombs
detonate, he allegedly responded: "C'est la vie" ("That's life"), Gordon
said.
"The affidavit makes clear their primary motivation was to ... terrorize
Muslims or Arabs and alert the national if not the local community to JDL's
commitment to attack those targets," Gordon said.
The source told officials he was led to believe one bomb was to be placed
in the offices of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. He arrived at Jerry's
Deli in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino with 5 pounds (2.2 kg) of
explosive powder in his vehicle ready for delivery to Krugel.
TARGETS CHANGED AT MEETING
However at the deli meeting the two men said they had changed their targets
and bombs were instead to be placed at the Culver City Mosque and Issa's
office. Gordon said he believed Issa, a Christian American of Lebanese
descent, was targeted because he made statements the JDL disagreed with.
There was no specific time frame for when the bombs were to be detonated,
however they were expected to be set off "in the near future. Things were
fluid," Gordon said.
Issa was not made aware of the plot, because authorities only learned of it
on Tuesday moments before the arrests, Gordon said.
Because the informant wore a wire when he met the two men, federal agents
followed and arrested them a short time later. A search of Krugel's Reseda,
Calif. house turned up two pipe bombs and firearms. The bombs were adequate
to cause "considerable damage" to the areas where they were to be detonated
and possibly death to people in the vicinity, officials said.
Issa thanked law enforcement officials for their quick action and said he
had "no way of knowing" why he had been a target of the JDL. "Like most
Americans, my hope and wish is for a peaceful resolution to the Middle East
conflict. Unfortunately, there are extremists on both sides who oppose a
peaceful resolution."
Rubin and Krugel are expected to appear in court later on Wednesday when
bail and future court dates will be set.
The JDL was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was assassinated in New York
in 1990. Prior to his death he founded the extremist KACH party in Israel
which advocated the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel and Israeli-occupied
territories. The party was later outlawed.
- - - - -
06) Special Message
Jewish Defense League
n.d., d.l. 16 Dec 01
Jewish Defense League Chairman Irv Rubin and his close friend and JDL
member Earl Krugel have been arrested for a crime they did not commit. JDL
is a law-abiding, albeit activist, organization; we are the last people to
be involved in any attempt to harm innocent people. Please remember that
the media have presented only one side of the story. Our members are being
persecuted by the U.S. government. They have been denied bail. Irv's wife
and children have not been allowed to see him. He was even denied a
toothbrush!
The Jewish Defense League stands firmly in support of our brothers'
innocence. In the coming days, we will be able to tell you, our members and
supporters, how you can help in their legal defense against this obvious
act of governmental appeasement of the Muslim community. Please rest
assured that Irv and Earl will be cleared of any wrongdoing when they have
their day in court.
We will update this message as soon as there is more to report on.
- - - - -
07) JDL Chairman Irv Rubin Arrested On Plot to Blow Up Bosques: Anti-Jewish
Leader Rev. Matt Hale Praises Arrest As A 'Great Blow Against
Terrorism'
World Church of the Creator
12 Dec 01
Today's arrest of Jewish Defense League ("JDL") Chairman Irv Rubin on a
plot to blow up mosques is a "great blow against terrorism", long-time
nemesis of the JDL Reverend Matt Hale stated today. Reverend Matt Hale is
the leader of the fastest growing White racist and anti-Jewish organization
in America, the World Church of the Creator. He and his Church have
featured on the Today Show, CNN Talkback Live, Dateline NBC, Good Morning
America, and CBS This Morning. Reverend Hale is an attorney who was denied
his license to practice law in the state of Illinois by virtue of his
controversial religious beliefs and advocacy of those beliefs. He is
currently suing the various bar officials in Federal court for so crassly
violating his constitutional rights.
Reverend Hale stated today, "The Jewish Defense League is a terrorist
organization whose members have collectively engaged in numerous crimes
including violent assaults, bombings, subornation of perjury, phone
harassment, and witness tampering. Specifically regarding our World Church
of the Creator, JDL members have physically assaulted our adherents, have
threatened the lives of people in order to force them to testify against
us in one of the lawsuits pending against us, have phoned in bomb threats
as a means of preventing our Church from freely gathering in public places,
and have threatened death to our adherents by telephone. The JDL website
(www.jdl.org) further clearly targets our Church and its attorneys for
harassment and violence."
Further, Reverend Hale stated, "It is good to see the Federal Government
get tough with the Jewish terrorists that are operating in America by
virtue of this arrest of Irv Rubin. This arrest is a great blow against
terrorism and we hope that further arrests of offending JDL members will be
made.
Our World Church of the Creator, as always, is a completely legal and
peaceful religious organization and would be happy to help law enforcement
in its work of stopping such terrorists like that of the JDL from hurting
American citizens."
- - - - -
08) JDL Could Play Critical Role in Racist's Lawsuits: Matt Hale's Jewish
Lawyer Focused on Constitutional Rights
Douglas Wertheimer (Chicago Jewish Star)
12-25 Jan 01
The outcome of two local court cases against self-proclaimed racist Matt
Hale could be determined by the testimony of an informant who may have been
coached by Jewish Defense League members, Hale's New York attorney. Glenn
Greenwald, told the Jewish Star this weekend.
Ian Sigel, head of JDL Chicago, is one of two JDL members who has been
subpoenaed to provide information and testimony to the case.
Sigel is scheduled to provide a deposition January 22 in Chicago in the
federal civil suit of Rev. Stephen T. Anderson v. Matthew Hale.
The case is before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois, and involves the allegation that Hale and the World Church of the
Creator conspired with Benjamin N. Smith to launch a "racial holy war"
against Blacks, Jewish, Asians and other non-whites.
Anderson, the Minister of the Greater Faith Temple Church in Decatur, who
is identified in the lawsuit as an African-American, was struck by three
bullets fired at him by Smith on July 3, 1999. That shooting was part of
Smith's rampage in Illinois and Indiana which began on July 2 and ended on
July 3 in Salem, Illinois, where he committed suicide.
Smith was a member of Hale's World Church; the two had been personally
associated in its work, and Smith had appeared as a character witness for
Hale in his application for a license to practice law in Illinois.
In all, Smith shot at some 18 people, killing two and wounding nine others.
The alleged role of the JDL could also play a critical part in determining
the outcome of a second civil case, Ephraim Wolfe et. al. v. Matt Hale et.
al.
That state suit, which is actually the older of the two, was filed July 9,
1999 in the Circuit Court of Cook County. It claims, among other things,
that Benjamin Smith acted as the agent of Matt Hale and/or others during
his rampage.
Among those attacked by Smith on July 2 were Ephraim Wolfe, then 15, of
West Rogers Park, who was shot in the leg, and Nosson Cohen, who was shot
at, but not hit (Jewish Star, July 16, 1999).
In the view of Greenwald, Hale's lawyer, both cases could hinge on
testimony of a former Hale associate. That associate told authorities that
a year or so after he joined the World Church, Hale told (or admitted to)
him that he had ordered Benjamin Smith to do the shootings, Greenwald told
the Jewish Star.
Greenwald said that the informant had been brought to the FBI by the JDL,
and that he had worn a wire-tapping device in order to get an audio record
of that alleged order. None, however, was obtained, Greenwald said.
Hale's attorney said that he will attempt to prove - most likely before a
jury - that "through a combination of coercion and threats" the JDL
"induced the informant to make his claim.
If the informant's testimony is ultimately discredited, Greenwald said both
cases against his client will collapse because there is no other convincing
basis for the conclusion that Hale is culpable for Smith's actions.
"No one on the planet has ever said that Matt Hale was in any way involved
in the Benjamin Smith shootings," Greenwald said, or that the World Church
"was involved in the Benjamin Smith shootings." Greenwald says that he
expects both cases to be resolved by the end of the year, but that he
wouldn't be surprised if, on appeal, they ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Michael Ian Bender, the attorney Wolfe v. Hale agreed that the testimony of
the informant was significant. He declined to discuss the JDL's alleged
involvement at this time. . . .
While acknowledging that his client is "a complete racist and a complete
anti-Semite" who is "completely candid about every view he has, Greenwald,
who is Jewish, told the Jewish Star that he agreed to represent [Hale]
because of the important constitutional rights issues raised by his cases.
In fact, Greenwald (of the New York firm Greenwald, Christoph & Holland)
was also Hale's counsel when the State of Illinois unsuccessfully sought to
revoke the non-profit status of the World Church.
That case is currently on appeal before the Illinois Supreme court, and
will likely be heard around the beginning of March.
Greenwald said that he was contacted by Hale when Hale was seeking
admission to the Illinois Bar on the recommendation of a Chicago friend who
was familiar with his firm's work in the area of constitutional rights
litigation.
For current federal and state cases, Hale had initially considered several
firms, but lawyers in Illinois - including the ACLU - seemed reluctant to
defend Hale, according to Greenwald. Greenwald, 33, is a graduate of New
York University Law School, and has been in practice for five years.
He said he told Hale at an early meeting that he was Jewish, and that Hale
has been "100% of the time completely polite and respectful on every
level." [Editorial Note: It seems like Mr. Greenwald is straining to
portray Hale, a vile Jew-hater, as a good guy.]
Greenwald's representation in the first case for Hale was without charge
(pro bo-no). He declined to discuss financial arrangements for his other
two cases. In Greenwald's view, those litigating against Hale "are way more
dangerous than Matt Hale ever could be." This is because their types of
lawsuits could end up punishing Hale "for the things he thinks and says."
Greenwald acknowledges that Morris Dee's Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
of Montgomery, Alabama has won high-profile cases against White
supremacists similar to the ones in which he is now involved with Hale. But
he claims that the SPLC did not face qualified counsel in most of these
cases, and that the organization out not to have prevailed.
Like the noted attorney Alan Dershowitz, and like the Anti-Defamation
League (before it changed its mind), Greenwald believes that it was wrong
to deny Hale admission to the Illinois State Bar. Yet Dershowitz - who
called Hale "an obnoxious racist" and a "despicable character" who had
"psychopaths" as members of his church, and who said "If [Hale] were hit by
lightning tomorrow, I'd cheer" - also told the Jewish Star in 1999 that
"under no circumstances will I ever represent Matthew Hale" (Jewish Star,
July 16, 1999).
Greenwald said that neither his personal views, nor his Jewishness,
impinged on his decision to defend Hale in court. What is important,
Greenwald says, is that Hale has a right to express his views, "and if he
loses his right, then nobody has it. As trite as that sounds, it's very
true."
* * * * *
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only.
__________________________________________________________________________
FASCISM:
We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget.
(No permission required for noncommercial reproduction)
- - - - -
back issues archived via:
<ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/>
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