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Quad view A quadcopter, operated by Chris Jmaiff, caught this shot of the Kersley fireworks last week. Chris Jmaiff photo
Jury hears defence in hate crime trial AUTUMN MacDONALD Observer Reporter
Defence continues Wednesday in Arthur Topham’s hate crime trial. The 12-member jury heard from Gilad Atzmon, a Jewish identity politics expert. Atzmon spoke of identifiable traits of the Jewish people, religion, politics, history, his background (including the fact he was born
in Israel) and a variety of books, passages and theories. “Some [Jewish people] identify with ancestry, some with religion and some with politics,” he said. “And that [politics] we can be critical of.” Atzmon pointed to a number of literary pieces in which he stated solidified his testimony. “It’s OK for them to be critical amongst themselves, but not for
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a gentile (non-Jew),” he stated. “This must be subject to criticism.” Atzmon then went on to discuss the Holocaust, noting “no one denies Jews were persecuted, it was a horrible chapter in history.” But highlighted his opinion the Holocaust has “all the symptoms of an organized religion.” Defence then asked if Atzmon believed Israel Must Perish, authored by Topham, and one of the
pieces under scrutiny for the charge, was a satire. “Yes,” Atzmon replied. Defence then questioned certain books published on Topham’s site, radicalpress.com, asking if the literary pieces could be found elsewhere, to which Atzmon replied “certainly” noting the Protocols of the Elders of Zion can also be found in audio form. “It opens the room for discussion [Protocols],” Atzmon said.
“In a free society we must be able to elaborate on anything that is out there, and yes, we may come across ideas that are uncomfortable.” Gilad Atzmon
“If they are open to talk about it, everyone
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else should be. In a free society we must be able to elaborate on anything that is out there, and yes, we may come across ideas that are uncomfortable.” Topham was arrested and his house searched in May 16, 2012 after it was determined “there were reasonable grounds the offence of promotion of hatred was committed.” Closing statements are expected Friday.
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