Faurisson attacked by Zionist paramilitaries in Italy

Claudio Moffa the professor of Afro-Asian history and institutions at the Università degli Studi of Teramo (Italy), organizes and runs a master's degree named after former ENI (the state oil firm) manager Enrico Mattei and dedicated to the Near and Middle East. This year master's lectures have also addressed atheme that taboo in European countries: the mythologization of the so-called "Holocaust" (or "Shoah") and its exploitation by US and Israeli ruling classes for political and financial purposes. The level of both lecturers and participants in the programme is high and their cultural background really various: among others, we could cite Moffa himself, Franco Cardini (a famous historian), Massimo Fini (a well-known journalist and philosopher), Tiberio Graziani (professor at the University of Perugia), Maurizio Blondet (a journalist and essayist), Fabio Alberti (director of a humanitarian NGO working in Iraq and Palestine), Vittorio Dan Segre (professor and former Israeli diplomat), Domenico Losurdo (philosophy professor), Israel Shamir (internationally renowned reporter and essayist), Giulio Andreotti (former Italian premier), Samir al-Kassir (Syrian ambassador) and Abolfazl Zohrevand (Iranian ambassador). On the back of the programme's great success and in view of the interest expressed by students, Claudio Moffa last month also decided to invite Robert Faurisson, a controversial French professor who denies that Nazi persecution of Jews during the Second World War reached the quantitative and qualitative levels described by mainstream historiography. According to the results of his studies, German leaders never ordered a genocide, homicidal gas chambers never existed in the camps and the number of Jewish victims is very much lower than six millions. Because of his findings Faurisson was removed from his chair, put on trial in both civil and criminal courts and subjected to several physical aggressions: nevertheless 78 years-old professor is still fighting for the freedom of research in Europe. It's important to note that neither Faurisson nor Moffa has any neo-Nazi affections: on the contrary, Claudio Moffa, in his youth was active in a far leftist organization.

The invitation of Faurisson gave rise to a lot of complaining on the part of Zionist groups and individuals, who had already seen "Enrico Mattei" master's program as being "unfriendly" towards Israel. A number of professors and other persons, among them a considerable group of Jewish personalities, signed a petition against freedom of speech (the evocation of which, in Moffa's case, they claimed arose from "a misunderstanding"), stating that nobody doing research on the "Holocaust" could disregard certain "unquestionable facts" (which obviously must be decided by the same petitioners!) and asking academic and political authorities to ban the event. Professor Moffa defended his initiative circulating a counter-petition in favour of freedom of speech, opinion and research (signed by hundreds of academics, students, journalists and ordinary people) and publicly inviting some of the critics to come and carry out a "cross-examination" of Faurisson after is lecture - but they all have refused. Italian mainstream media, especially two Italian newspapers (the post-communist "L'Unità" and "la Repubblica", the latter owned by a Jewish billionaire), began a slander campaign against professors Moffa and Faurisson; moreover, some extremist Zionist organizations, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, publicly asked the University of Teramo to forbid Faurisson's lecture. Just a few days before the event, in the face of Moffa's refusal to cancel the lecture, the University's Chancellor decided to close all buildings and rooms connected to Political Science Department. Even the Italian minister of universities and research, Fabio Mussi, took side against Faurisson's lecture, but Claudio Moffa courageously refused to surrender and moved the event to a hotel in Teramo city centre.

On May 18th, professor Faurisson arrived at Teramo and, before the lscheduled ecture, gave a press conference in front of the hotel. But, just a few minutes after the end of the press conference, a small group of Zionist hooligans tried to attack the elderly French author and researcher. He was saved from harm by the prompt reaction of professor Moffa and some onlookers. After that, Zionist riff-raff engaged in a brawl with onlookers and policemen, injuring deputy-chief constable Gennaro Capasso (a fractured clavicle for him). Teramo province's Chief Constable, rather than defending some peaceful citizens against 50 criminals, obliged Moffa and Faurisson to cancel the lecture and leave the district under escort.

But who were the attackers? They are some middle-aged Jews from Rome, members of the LED (Lega Ebraica di Difesa), Italian branch of the JDL ("Jewish Defense League") founded by the late rabbi Mehir Kahane. That organization provides paramilitary training to members (some even volunteer in Tsahal, the Israeli army) and "guard" Jewish areas in Rome. LED actions are not only "defensive": often they have physically attacked persons whose only "fault" is to have criticized Israeli politics. For example, in 1992 LED paramilitaries (armed with iron bars and revolvers) assaulted the office of a small right-wing political party, the Movimento Politico, literally destroying both office and party. In 1995 LED members attacked supporters of a Jesi basketball team who had insulted a Jewish player. In 1996, after the acquittal of Erich Priebke, an elderly former SS officer, Jewish paramilitaries surrounded the Military Tribunal of Rome, effectively holding judges and lawyers hostage until Italian Minister of Justice, by way of an unconstitutional decision, cancelled the tribunal's judgement and ordered the re-arrest of the accused. Since 2002, LED has been responsible for a number of aggressions against leftist pro-Palestine militants. All those crimes remained unpunished. LED is not isolated among Italian Jews: Riccardo Pacifici, alleged leader of LED, is speaker of Rome's Jewish community. The day after the Teramo assault, interviewed by an Italian newspaper, he not only  refused to condemn the violence but also asked for removal of professor Moffa from his chair. In response, Claudio Moffa has just started to organize the next year master's program. Moreover, a "Committee Against Repression of Freedom of Speech and Thought" has been established and is launching a new appeal (see appendix).

Daniele Scalea

Refences:

http://www.mastermatteimedioriente.it/ - Site of the Master "Enrico Mattei per il Medio Oriente"

Emmanuel Ratier, I guerrieri d’Israele, Centro librario Sodalitium, Verrua Savoia 1998 (ed. orig. Les Guerriers d’Israël, Facta, Paris 1995)

Dagoberto Husayn Bellucci, La Jewish Defense League, "Rinascita", 28 giugno 2006

John Hooper, A step too far?, “The Guardian”, 18 maggio 2007:

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_hooper/2007/05/a_step_too_far.html

“Teleponte” – TG del 18 maggio 2007 (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re7L5DSPdDk

Giuseppe Caporale, Proteste e schiaffi per Faurisson, "La Repubblica", 19 maggio 2007

(Editorial), Il giorno di Faurisson: scontri, disordini, insulti, feriti, "PrimaDaNoi.it", 19 maggio 2007:

http://www.primadanoi.it/modules/bdnews/article.php?storyid=10022

Ellezeta, Faurisson e Moffa aggrediti da ebrei venuti da Roma, "viaroma100.net", 19 maggio 2007:

http://www.viaroma100.net/notizia.php?id=10329&type=1

Nicola Facciolini, Violenza gratuita in pieno centro storico per l'assenza della politica sul caso Faurisson, “il quotidiano.it”, 19 maggio 2007

http://www.ilquotidiano.it/articoli/2007/05/19/72515/violenza

Maurizio Blondet, C'è uno squadrismo kosher, "Effedieffe Giornale Online", 21 maggio 2007

http://www.effedieffe.com/rx.php?id=1994%20&chiave=squadrismo

Appendix:

Appeal “The Denied Speech”

On Friday 18th May in Teramo, professor Robert Faurisson, who had just been prevented from giving a lecture within the local University where he had been invited by professor Claudio Moffa, was attacked in the city-centre by a group of thugs. Whatever the substance of professor Faurisson's arguments may be, it’s inconceivable that a group of persons, through aggression and threat, should be able to prevent him or anyone else from enjoying the right of free speech sanctioned by Constitution and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, just as unconscionable as the pressures exerted on the Minister for universities to obtain the “expulsion” of professor Claudio Moffa from Teramo University.

If you agree with such actions, then do not sign. But if, even without knowing or sharing the views of the so-called “negationists”, you think that no-one must be prosecuted or jailed or violently prevented from expressing his or her opinions - regardless of what they are - if you still believe in article 21 and article 33 of the Italian Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, if you think that it’s unfair to request the expulsion from the University of a professor who, moreover, has never systematically studied “negationist” problematics; then subscribe to this declaration.

Perhaps it’s a courageous sign, surely a gesture of courtesy and political intelligence: only those who talk nonsense in favour of their own (presumed) political “purity” - the side whose membership mustn’t be “contaminated” by the opposing side - cannot understand, from deficiency of discernment, that the imminent risk for every Italian and European citizens of whatever political belief is a general gagging and the creation of a horrific totalitarian system which, for its dimension and its hypocritical image of “democracy”, will be without precedent in history. Let’s sign against corporated mass-media of the single way of thinking, against freedom-restricting laws that drag through the mud and destroy the Europe of bourgeois and socialist liberties, against the gagging of teaching (at any level), against every fundamentalisms, against the idiocy and sordid opportunism spreading in political and intellectual circles on both Right and Left.

Long live freedom!

Italian Committee Against Repression of Freedom of Speech and Thought

In order to sign please write to pepperosci@alice.it.