Anti-Arab Editorial Could Put author in jail

I live in Malta, a tiny island in the Mediterranean. A local columnist published an article very much in line with what you had said and she has been criminally charged with inciting racial hatred and will appear in court early October, 2002.

I sent a copy of your article to Simone Zammit Endrich and she asked me to locate you and ask you to either send that article yourself to the Maltese Media or to please give us permission to reproduce it while, of course, giving you full credit for it.

In Malta we are supposed to have freedom of speech in our Constitution but our authorities feel they have the right to overrule the Constitution. We are putting a tough fight right now involving the media and also on the internet to force the authorities to drop charges against Simone and the newspaper that published it and also to gain true freedom of speech as per our Constitution.

Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated and we want to thank you in advance.

BTW, your article says nothing but the truth - you did a magnificent job on it.

Here's Simone's article with a note I attached asking for non Maltese to express their views about it:

I'd like to have the opinion of non-Maltese on this article. Back in April, the President, Prime Minister and Head of Opposition of Malta participated in what was supposed to have been a demonstration for peace in the Middle East but it turned out to be more of a propaganda for the Palestinians.

My friend Simone Zammit Endrich wrote this article. This week she was charged by the police with inciting hatred. The police were pressured by Arab diplomats to take criminal action. The Libyan (I think) high commissioner was angry at this article and he replied on the paper criticizing it.

Do you people find incitement of hatred in what she wrote? I'll pass any comments I receive to her and perhaps even publish them on local papers so the police etc can read them. We're supposed to have "freedom of speech" in Malta but our politicians have a thin skin and whenever someone hurts them, they jump and libel or sue or charge with breach of privilege which I have defined as intimidation tactics.

By whose authority do our three political leaders – the President, Prime Minister and Opposition leader – give a public display of support to the Palestinian cause? How dare they – our representatives – take the liberty on behalf of the Maltese people, in ways that are decidedly undemocratic, unethical, and uncalled for? Are they aware that, aside from the political class and the usual small but noisy peace-screaming groups, the rest of the country is howling in protest?

Apparently not!. Or shall we qualify that to – yes, they are pretty much aware of the national climate but are also pretty much intent on sacrificing it for a “higher” cause, which they like to call by the pretty name of peace but which really translates to “let’s see where the wind is blowing in the global arena and whether our stand will ultimately take us places”.

Peace? What is peace? Everybody talks of peace almost like it was that shining star temptingly within reach when, in truth, stars are unreachable. Mouthing the right words won’t get anybody any closer. Wearing ridiculous Palestinian emblems and marching in the streets under Palestinian flags and anti-Israeli slogans, even less so. Peace is anti-nobody; pro-tolerance at all times. That Valletta march was anything but a march for peace. It was a protest march, period.

Which means that the President, Prime Minister and Opposition leader had no business being there that day. Peace, like charity, begins at home. With a full-scale cold war on our very own doorstep and a spate of anger and hatred given vent to at every turn by the same leaders that now patronise us with peace aphorisms, do these three musketeers honestly expect to be taken seriously?

Peace is but a fancy word So let us be realistic. Let us forget the fancy words and get down to brass tacks.

Do the Palestinians want peace? No. They want revenge. The homicide bombings they commend so nauseatingly are symptomatic of their Islamic roots. Nothing martyrish about them. Just typical cowardly acts of barbarism; an instilment of terror which is heroically viewed throughout the Arab world, and one which Palestinian leader Arafat himself has never bothered to disassociate himself from.

Are the Palestinians tolerant of and willing to coexist with their historical kin, the Israelis? We all know that anti-Semitism is rampant in the Arab world. In their heart of hearts, the majority of Arabs view the extermination of the Jewish race as the epitome of a clean-up to the world. Nowhere is this trait more overt than in the Middle East. We refuse to be party to it.

And lest the world forgets, the Palestinians were the first to take to the streets in celebration following the barbaric 11 September attack on the US. They rejoiced in the mass murder of innocent American people. Why? Simply because they were American. Possibly because many of them had Jewish origins. Those that did not rejoice openly did so in their hearts, as in the way they attempted to equate such a horrific deed with pay-back time for the US’s support of Israel. I can see nothing tolerant about such deep-rooted hatred.

Today, the Palestinians have some gall in playing the victims with the aim of rallying world support. But they would be obtuse to expect the US to play along to appease European leaders. The US is as much on the defensive against this sort of terrorism as Israel is. And it has every right to be.

The Jewish perspective Do the Israelis want peace? No. They want to survive with or without peace. They refuse to let the world pierce through their armour now that they have dug their roots. Death is not a new phenomenon to the Jews. They are used to gratuitous death. They know only too well that if rendered weak and defenceless, the world would turn its back on them just as it did during the Holocaust; just as it has always done throughout three-quarters of the entire history of civilised humanity. Theirs is a war for survival. We do not condone their violence, but neither do we condemn them for calling their dues.

The way I see it, the world today is reaping the bitter harvest of its previous crimes; crimes it has conveniently disguised or rationalised. They could have been crimes of commission or of omission, it matters not which. They are crimes nonetheless, and the most atrocious at that. The fact that the whole world (with, perhaps, the exception of the US) has gone into denial mode again, just as it did in the 1950s and 1960s, can only serve to increase Israeli frustration and resolve. Jews have a psychological need to experience international solidarity, if only to make up in a minor way for past indifference. They have been let down yet again, of course!

The Jewish people are unique in that they are the only race on earth that can never rationalise or undervalue such a searing experience. It has haunted, traumatised and victimised too many generations; tortured the spirit of a whole race for way too long. That they have endured this long through such appalling adversities is to their credit alone. Their extreme defensiveness today is a natural by-product of a beleaguered past. They are entitled to it. Before peace can be achieved the world needs to understand this fact of life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Christian theologian who was hanged in the concentration camp at Flossenburg in 1945, put the Jewish perspective very succinctly and very precisely in one of his writings: “We have learned to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of those who are excluded, under suspicion, ill-treated, powerless, oppressed and scorned, in short those who suffer.” Indeed, Jewish suffering is timeless.

Well, the Jews are no longer the underdogs now. They are a force to be reckoned with. This is the message they are sending out to the world.

The stereotype of the Jew as the exploiter and usurer of profits from the loss of others still lives on in the modern world, as is the myth of the all-powerful “Jewish conspiracy” capable of bending the course of the world to its own will and profit. Anti-Semitism lurks furtively in the world at large; among Muslims it proudly rules. As opposed to the past, at which time this cult used to be a Christian phenomenon, today it is the Muslims who are the most vibrant and explicit anti-Semites.

Where does all this hatred stem from? Certainly not from the tanks over Bethlehem (with apologies to Lino Spiteri). Jews just make an ideal scapegoat. Why? Jealousy, of course. As Albert Einstein, himself a Jew, put it : “… because despite the fact that Jewish people have always been thinly populated in various countries, they have always had a disproportionate number of outstanding public figures.”

As a matter of fact, the typical Jew is clever, quick, perceptive, industrious, able in all economic and financial affairs, in short – successful. On the flipside, the typical Arab is lazy and confined to religious idiosyncrasies, with violence and intolerance at the hub of his culture. Arabs loathe the Israelis in very much the same manner they harbour anti-American sentiments. They are the embodiment of all they would have liked to be.

The Israelis understand these sentiments well enough. Frankly, I think that today’s Arab world is paying the price of its ancestors’ barbarism. Even if it seems like Palestinians are the underdogs in the Middle East scenario, given their character – their extreme resort to violence, their historic brutal invasions and appropriation of lands, their misplaced sense of superiority over the rest of the world – I’m not in the least surprised that Israel is wary of allowing them even the remote possibility of taking the upper hand. As the saying goes – give them an inch and they’ll take a yard. One cannot be too careful in the circumstances.

The two nations are at war. Israel has every right to invest its human and military resources in defence of its cause. The world has no right to impose its judgement. Least of all the European Union, which still bears the marks of the worst genocide in history – six million, not a few hundreds, of innocent lives taken at the whim of one powerful nation.

As for the Palestinian marchers in Valletta, what can I say? It’s so easy to protest in a land that has cushioned them from the ravages of their war-torn homeland, isn’t it? I feel nothing but pity for that sorry lot. If they love their country as much as they claim to, I wonder why they haven’t packed their bags and joined their Palestinian brothers yet?

Ah, well, that’s what a life of sheer luxury does to you. You eventually lose sight of your priorities. There’s not much sweat lost in a sissy march in designer jeans, is there? Whereas there’s a hell of a lot at stake in the trenches. The same goes for Arafat’s wife, a staunch advocate of homicide bombers, who lives comfortably in Paris. (Ahem!)

If tolerance is nowhere in sight, war is a foregone conclusion and peace just a mesmeric dream. Peace is a process, not an end; a long learning process achievable only through many minor or major, cold or fierce wars. Considering the intransigence of human nature, I doubt the ideal can ever be achieved.

Negotiation? Let us please not kid ourselves, for heaven’s sakes, as witness to Colin Powell’s “mission impossible” last week. The hearts that are really on fire won’t be around any table; their passions not easily doused by childish promises they cannot keep. War and peace are scorching personality issues. One rebel is enough to set ablaze any peace treaty of a thousand nations. Learning through pain and loss is, unfortunately, a necessary human evil. Sometimes there is no other way of wiping the slate clean off prejudice passed down from one generation to the other. This is the bitter harvest that humanity has to deal with through each successive generation. Our actions today are a legacy too. The peace talks may bear fruit one day but not before the lessons have been learnt. The hard way.

The FreeRepublic's Reach is worldwide! And comments by Freepers have an impact in small places like Malta. Freepers do make a difference. It's too bad what we say here said by anyone else elsewhere; without our Constitution, could lead them to jail. But, we must be careful because there are people that would undermine our 1st Amendment Right if given the chance.

Van Jenerette's article "Will the Real Islam Please Stand Up?"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/548001/posts

She is right, what got her in trouble is that she called the government on it, and was right about that too. I am reminded of those special words,
"Gentlemen cry peace, Peace, but there is no peace........"

I am not a proponent of war, I have seen and tasted all the war I care to,
but I will not let terrorists carry war to me
and not give them back more war than they can swallow,
enough war that their terrified eyes beg for peace,
and not until they lay stinking in their graves will peace come to them.

Wow! This article could have been written by any one of us, and she has done the cause of democracy and freedom proud. Clearly, she is an advocate for truth, not hatred. Indeed, she has done the great service of unflinchingly pointing to the real sources and cesspools of hatred in the Mideast. And calling hypocrisy by its right name. If Maltese authorities think that this free speech, which was her guaranteed right under the Malta Constitution, was 'incitement to hatred'... then how much more so their own behaviour? After all, marching (perhaps goose-stepping?) with their crackpot Palestinian expatriots who refuse to go back to their so-called homeland...and prosecuting native Maltese for merely telling the truth against them? Have these 'officials' EVER read the Bible's Book of Revelations? Next they will be calling that hate-speech!

This UNCONSTITUTIONAL travesty against their own citizens show that these authorities are dangerous, unprincipaled and filled with fear and hatred. They need to be dis-elected as soon as the voters can take care of these evil men.

BTW: Jim, FR is now truly the international beacon of hope for truth and liberty! Take them apples BBC.

Until Mecca is nuked from the face of the earth and EVERY objecter to that act is executed in place, these 'Bravo Sierra' games will NEVER end.....anywhere...for anyone.

PUT ISLAM TO THE SWORD
NOW!

Otherwise, the moss slimes will drag everyone down to their subhuman level.

Ah yes, Malta would be British law. Britain as a whole doesn't have a good record of civil rights for the last 50 years, and the last twenty has been more free-fall than sliding down the slope. Falls nicely in line with other islamist-appeasing British moves, such as removing the cross from badges worn by islamics.

Other islamic aggression occurred just recently in Norway, with a population of 35000 muslims (less than one % of the populatin). Seems that the ruling party is Christian Democrats. Islamics demanded a share of the seats, because "the Church and Islam are sisters", and it's unfair that the Christians are over-represented. It also seems the islamics have infiltrated the Christian-Democrat party and are seeking to turn it in to a Muslim-Christian thing.

This is the first I've seen that particular tactic. Coming soon to a community near you.

In Europe freedom of speech is reserved. Some people do have the right to say everything, others will be brought to court when saying something simular. The right to freedom of speech is swithed on and off whenever it suits certain people.

Pim Fortuyn recently broke down walls and won people some freedom of speech again. He paid for this with his life.

Make sure that they do not take away that freedom. Europeans don't know what is to fight anymore. They lost that feeling a long time ago.

Dear Dr Jenerette, I got hold of a copy of your excellent article Will the real Islam please stand up? by Van Jenerette, Major, U.S. Army(ret) Ph.D. Candidate, University of South Carolina Sunday, October 14, 2001 I live in Malta, a tiny island in the Mediterranean. A local columnist published an article very much in line with what you had said and she has been criminally charged with inciting racial hatred and will appear in court early October, 2002.

The Future of Free Speech In America:

I certainly have no love for Islam and the Arab world after 9/11, but I think your 'final' solution' is quite extreme. Hopefully after you've slept it off you'll review your statement and make an apology.

There's a large difference between a pre-emptive strike on Iraq in order to stave off a costly strike ourselves, and a plan to wipe out every single muslim. Grow up.

I think you need to prove your 'difference' rather than smugly (and liberally, I might add) just harumph and say 'poppycock'. Not all muslims, just one town. And I surmise the 'objectors' who would draw our attention thereafter would be just Al Qaueda supporters, who need killing anyways...by your own definition.

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