Haaretz
Adar1 17, 5765
TORONTO - Jewish
activists Friday hailed a federal court ruling that
allows Canada to
deport German Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, who has been held in a
Toronto jail for two years while authorities determined whether he posed a
security risk to Canadian society.
Federal Court Justice Pierre
Blais said Zundel's activities were not only a threat to national
security, "but also a threat to the international community of
nations."
Zundel, author of "The Hitler We Loved and Why," is one
of the world's leading proponents of white supremacy, a self-proclaimed
guru of neo-Nazis who claims the Holocaust never happened.
In his
63-page decision released in Ottawa on Thursday, Blais called Zundel a
racist hypocrite and said his Toronto home was a "revolving door" for some
of the world's most notorious white supremacists who have promoted
violence and hatred against Jews and minorities.
Frank Dimant,
executive vice president of B'nai Brith of Canada, said: "It is time for
Zundel's plane to take off. This should mark a closure to the tireless
efforts of many to bring Zundel to justice."
B'nai Brith and other
Jewish organizations in Canada and the United States have for decades
followed Zundel's activities and intervened in the legal proceedings
against him.
"The court has rightfully labeled Zundel as a hate
monger and provocateur and therefore a danger to all Canadians," Dimant
said.
Born in Germany in 1939, Zundel emigrated to Canada in 1958
and lived in Toronto and Montreal until 2001. Canadian officials rejected
his attempts to obtain Canadian citizenship in 1966 and 1994. He moved to
the U.S. state of Tennessee until he was deported back to Canada in 2003
for alleged immigration violations.
Zundel faces prosecution in
Germany for his neo-Nazi and Holocaust-denying activities. Since the late
1970s he has operated Samisdat Publishing, one of the leading distributors
of Nazi propaganda and since 1995 has been a key content provider for a
Web site dedicated to Holocaust denial, according to the Anti-Defamation
League.
German authorities told the Canadian Press on Friday that
Zundel would be picked up and arrested as soon as he arrived back in his
homeland.
"Mr. Zundel has associated, supported and directed
members of the (white supremacist) movement who in one fashion or another
have sought to propagate violent messages of hate and have advocated the
destruction of governments and multicultural societies," Blais
said.
Zundel claimed in court that he is a peaceful man who has no
criminal record or charges against him in Canada. His attorneys have
challenged the constitutionality of the security certificate review
process.
The Canadian security certificate law, passed after the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, allows the government to
hold terrorism suspects without charge, based on secret evidence that does
not have to be disclosed to a suspect's defense.
Zundel's defense
attorney told reporters after the ruling on Thursday that he intends to
appeal to the Supreme Court and that he was not allowed to play a
meaningful role in his defense "in the face of secret
evidence."
Zundel's lawyer Peter Lindsay said Friday he did not
expect his client to be deported for at least another week or
two.
He said the Federal Court had told him that he would be warned
about deportation, to be given a chance to appeal to the Supreme Court on
grounds that Blais was biased and the security certificates violated
Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedom.