Hate on tour
Community leaders have expressed their dismay over the announcement by convicted Holocaust denier David Irving of a nationwide speaking tour and a new series of books.
In an interview with the Guardian this weekend, the discredited historian – who recently spent time in an Austrian jail after being found guilty of denial – announced that after keeping a “low profile”, he was “ready to start again”.
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Responding to his latest assertions, American author Deborah Lipstadt, who successfully defended her claim that Irving was a Holocaust denier in the 2000 libel case, wrote on her website this week: “The fact is that David Irving has made so many twists and turns in his claims that even I, who is pretty familiar with them all, has a hard time keeping track of them all.The only way he gets attention is by swerving in one direction and then the other.
Karen Pollock, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: “In 2000, a British High Court Judge branded David Irving a ‘falsifier of history’ and a ‘racist’. I can not imagine there is any real interest in Irving’s “speaker tour” and I can not understand why anyone would sympathise with his spurious views.”
Jon Benjamin, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies, added: “The judgement against Irving in the High Court in April, 2000 and the judge's comments after a lengthy examination of the evidence irreparably damaged any claims he may have had to have been a serious historian. He is free to speak in this country, within the bounds of the law, but can he really be treated as a reputable authority? Any road show would be more of a freak show.”
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