Jewish activists hailed a court ruling that allows Canada to deport German Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel to face prosecution at home.
Zundel, author of The Hitler We Loved and Why, 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 Friday that Zundel's activities were not only a threat to national security, "but also a threat to the international community of nations."
Zundel, a leading proponent of white supremacy, 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.
"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," said Frank Dimant, executive vice president of B'nai Brith of Canada.
B'nai Brith and other Jewish organizations in Canada and the US have for decades followed Zundel's activities and intervened in the legal proceedings against him.
"The impact of Zundel's removal from Canada is significant," said Len Rudner, national director of community relations for the Canadian Jewish Congress.
`An indictment of hatred'
"It's an indictment of hatred, an indictment of violence."
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 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.
Zundel's lawyer Peter Lindsay said in statement that Zundel would not appeal and expected to be deported as early as next Tuesday.
"Probably no one cares because Mr. Ernst Zundel is notorious and reviled," Lindsay said.
"The powerful and the popular do not need to rely on the fairness of our legal system. The marginalized and the reviled do. Our system has failed Mr. Zundel," he added.
`A dangerous precedent'
Zundel spokesman Mark Weber said Zundel was being persecuted for his personal beliefs.
"The government case is based on pretext, innuendo," Weber said by phone.
"The judge cites no concrete basis that he is a threat to national security. He merely points out that Zundel met with people who, arguably, might be a threat to national security. That's not a crime. It's a dangerous precedent and it's a dangerous blow against freedom for Canadians."
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 Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, until he was deported back to Canada in 2003 for alleged immigration violations.
Zundel claimed in court that he is a peaceful man who has no criminal record or charges against him in Canada. Lindsay, his attorney, challenged the constitutionality of the security certificate review process, saying it violates his client's right to free speech and association.
The Canadian security certificate law, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US, 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.
Alan Borovoy, general counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said intelligence authorities may know of criminal offenses by Zundel, which cannot be disclosed for reasons of national security, but the detainment without charge or public evidence smacks of injustice.
"Zundel, I have no difficulty saying, is a nasty, nasty character and everything I'm saying is without the slightest sympathy for him," Borovoy said. "But the process in itself is unfair."
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their
RSS