41845358-Antisemitism

CANADA’S ATTEMPTS TO CURB ERNST ZÜNDEL
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matter that is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt by
reason of the fact that that person or those persons are identifiable on the
basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.”
[133] We have already concluded that there has been repeated telephonic
communication. The issue now under consideration is whether the material
communicated is “likely to expose” a person or group to hatred or contempt.
The cases in which this section has been considered, and the plain language
used in s. 13(1), make it clear that it need not be established that hatred or
contempt will be, or has been aroused by the communication at issue. It must
only be established on a balance of probabilities that a person or a group is
likely to be exposed to these extreme emotions of hostility.
[134] For our purposes, it is sufficient if the communications at issue create
conditions that allow hatred to flourish, leaving the identifiable group open
or vulnerable to extreme ill will and hostility. We must determine whether
members of a group are placed at risk of being hated, or being held in contempt
by virtue of the messages communicated by the Respondent. ...
[137] We begin our analysis with a review of the material found on the
Zundelsite, and the intertwining themes of its messages. The over arching
theme found in these materials is an unrelenting questioning of the “truth”
related to the extent of the persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany during the
second World War. Virtually every aspect of the Holocaust is challenged: the
numbers of those who died, how and why they died, and the reliability of the
accounts of witnesses, survivors, confessors and the perished. Aspersions are
cast on the legitimacy of post war legal and historical analysis, and doubts are
raised regarding the veracity of a myriad of details related to the experience of
Jews at this time.
[138] A secondary theme, closely related to the first, is the assertion that the
truth needs to be revealed, but that those who profit from the commonly held
view of the Holocaust have thwarted this goal. There are repeated references
to the individual and collective benefits that the Jewish peoples and Israel
have realised from their continued promotion of the “Holocaust story.”
[139] In levelling these charges, Jews are branded as liars, swindlers, racketeers
and extortionists. They are accused of wielding extraordinary power
and control, all used only for their own advantage and to the great detriment
of others. Jews are described as criminals and parasites, acting on a global
level to elevate their own power and wealth. Jewish people are viciously targeted
in the Zundelsite material on the basis of their religious and cultural
associations.
[140] The messages conveyed in these documents carry very specific assertions
regarding the character and behaviour of Jews, none of it good. Jews are
vilified in the most rabid and extreme manner, permitting, in our view, of “no
redeeming qualities.” Given our reading of the material communicated via
the Zundelsite, we are satisfied that the test set out in [previous litigation]
has been met. In our judgement, these messages create an environment in
which it is likely that Jews will be exposed to extreme emotions of detestation
and vilification. Based on our view that the Zundelsite materials characterize
Jews as “liars, cheats, criminals and thugs” who have deliberately engaged in a
monumental fraud designed to extort funds, we regard it as highly likely that
readers of these materials will, at a minimum, hold Jews in very low regard,