Toben jailed in landmark Shoah case

A revisionist historian living in Australia has been sentenced to three months in prison for refusing to remove Holocaust denial material and other antisemitic vitriol from his website.

Fredrick Toben, the director of the notorious Adelaide Institute, was sentenced in the Federal Court of South Australia for breaching a 2002 court order to remove offensive material that denied the Holocaust, doubted the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz and vilified Jews.

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North Korea tests more missiles

Two more missiles have been fired by North Korea, a matter of hours after the UN Security Council condemned yesterday’s nuclear test.

The two short-range missiles were fired from an east coast base, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

UN diplomats said they were seeking "tough measures", including further sanctions against the communist state.

Monday's underground nuclear test was accompanied by at least three missile launches Today’s involved one surface-to-air missile and one ground-to-air missile.

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Spain on a mission to promote Jews’ legacy

Does Spain’s love of olive oil have anything to do with the great Jewish civilisation that once flourished in the country? It is a question that intrigues Diego de Ojeda, director general of Casa Sefarad Israel, the official Spanish agency for ties with Israel and the Jewish people.

“I wonder to what extent the fact we fry in olive oil is a product of kosher rules, in having not to fry in butter,” he said.

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Anti-racism law drafted

Hungary is to introduce legislation outlawing Holocaust denial and any public expression of racism within weeks.

The move follows an upsurge in racist violence, described by Interior Minister Tibor Draskovics as “political terrorism”. This includes the murder and attempted murder of several Gypsies and a recent neo-Nazi demonstration on Holocaust Remembrance Day, during which speakers said the Holocaust was a myth. They spoke under a giant placard proclaiming that “The truth will make free”, a reference to the Auschwitz sign “Arbeit macht frei” (Work brings freedom).

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Argentina knife attack

Argentinian Justice Minister Ánibal Fernández has denied that there was “an outbreak of antisemitism” in the country, after a Jewish crowd was attacked by a knife-wielding gang.

The incident took place during an event marking Israel’s 61st anniversary in Buenos Aires last week, attended by 500 people. Twenty men emerged from a subway entrance armed with sticks, knives, a flail and a banner accusing Israel of genocide, and began assaulting crowd members.

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Netanyahu meets Obama: Israelis do not want rift

Ariel Sharon learned two important lessons between his failed tenure as defence minister in the early ‘80s, and his much more successful term as prime minister, starting in 2000. First, maintain eye contact with Israel’s centre, and make sure that even the liberal left doesn’t really hate you. Second, make sure to work closely with the US government. These two cannot guarantee personal success, but they are key to having relative political calm.

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