Similarly I would defend the right to deny the Holocaust

Stevenlmayer.........there is a limit even to freedom of speech.

To deny the existence of the Holocaust which is the most researched and documented historical event ever to occur merely shows the ignorance and/or malfides of the denier.

A right is something that can be enforced by law.

No law should exist to protect Holocaust deniers.

Great article, Barry.

Judging by some of the responses here, any mention of anti-Semitism is an excuse for people to launch into a rant about the alleged crimes of Israel and the "plight" of the Palestinians, and to show anti-Semitism.

I agree that Holocaust denial should be a crime, because such denial is in itself a form of anti-Semitism.

individual

"Have you ever asked yourself why jewish people are perpetually having trouble anywhere they go ?"

Not true. Jewish people had no troubles in India, or China, or later in Japan where the Hindu, Buddhist and Shinto religions accept the beliefs of all. Antisemitism is confined to Christianity and Islam, both offshoots from Judaism, who both took the view that their adherents were the only ones destined for a good afterlife. Jewish theology like that of the Eastern religions teaches that divine benefits are dispensed only on the goodness of the people, not on their faith.

Christianity and Islam are always unhappy bedmates because of that attitude. Both have been harsh to non co-religionists. Australia was initially free from the antisemitic disease simple because a convict society held little regard for religion.

Look at the Middle East where non-Muslims have been continually leaving as a result of pressures. Bethlehem and Lebanon no longer have Christian majorities. Nearly a million Jews were pushed out of countries such as Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen etc etc. The Baha'i and the Druze found refuge in Israel. Saudi Arabia does not allow Churches.

Yet all we hear about is the Palestinians, you would think Christian countries, while criticising Israel would find some sympathy for their co-religionists in the West Bank, but on that they are silent. Only Israel is criticised, even though it allows religious freedom for all. It appears that Israel is not permitted to ensure that the majority of its population are Jewish, but the Islamic states are allowed to conduct a policy which amounts to ethnic cleansing.

I bet the only response to these comments will be "Zionist Propaganda".

Logic,
explanation appreciated. Please tolerate another ignorant question. Do India, Japan & China permit the purchase & ownership of of land & other property as well as permanent settling by outsiders like western countries ?
I was always led to believe that with jewish people it was their closed circuit economy financial exploits rather than their religion which causes them much envy, hence problems. If the above countries are so tolerant why aren't more jewish people moving there & have the peace they crave & deserve ? Why go through the agony of living in a packed quarry when there're so many nice places to go to ?

"led to believe...closed circuit economy financial exploits rather than their religion which causes them much envy, hence problems".
This insinuates one of the many myths spread about Jews, that they somehow control world finances. The truth of the matter is more mundane, while it's true that many Jews are bankers, there are historical reasons for this. Jews in Europe until around the 19th century were forbidden to own property, i.e. bricks and mortar, and moved into banking. Similarly, they were forbidden from many trades, hence their tendency to be jewellers and goldsmiths (reflected in European Jewish names such as Goldsmith, Silver and Diamond).

individual

One of the main areas of Jewish success was not in the finance industry bur in medicine and more recently law. Elizabeth I had a Jewish physician, the Jewish doctors were less encumbered by religious dictates than the Christians and made better doctors. Earlier it is known that the Crusader King Richard was treated by Saladin's doctor, who was Jewish.

Jews have excelled in science medicine and the arts more than in business, but the antisemitic stereotype prefers the money lender image.

The Broadway musical was created by Jews, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins,Lorenz, Hart, Richard Rogers, Sondheim, Bernstein, Lerner and Lowe were all Jews, as in fact was the Viennese Johann Strauss the elder. Then we have writers Heinrich Heine, Pinter, Arther Miller etc.

The first heart transplant was done by a Jewish doctor, all the Jewish artists doctors and scientists were very outward looking people. Perhaps it is the religion which is at the core of Jewish success. Converts such as Marilyn Monroe and Sidney Portier seemed to have flourished.

Israel continues the creative stream, with more Nobel Prize winners per capita than any other land. In fact Jews have done badly only some of the time, the Israelis have created an extraordinary land out of desertand at the same time provided refuge for other refugees from the ME. Israel is not perfect but it would be given a much higher scorecard were it not for the antisemitic attitudes which still prevail, they are underlying ones in our culture which never seem to go away completely.