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February 09, 2009

Thought Police

Reuters - The meetings, the first since the controversy over Bishop Richard Williamson, who denies the extent of the Holocaust, began last month, took place three days before Pope Benedict is due to address a group of American Jewish leaders.

"Today we strongly reaffirmed that the denial of the Shoah is not an opinion, but a crime," said Richard Prasquier, president of the French Jewish umbrella organization CRIF, using the Hebrew word for Holocaust. (emphasis added)

As the Reuters piece notes, Williamson is not a Holocaust denier. He doesn't deny that it took place, rather he denies the extent of it and one method employed by the Nazis. I'm not defending him, those are simply the facts. It is factually incorrect to call him a Holocaust/Shoah denier.

That said, it's deeply disturbing that Prasquier would argue that thoughts - even incorrect thoughts - constitute a crime.

Posted by Kevin at February 9, 2009 01:30 PM