FSWC November 13, 2006

Contact:
DavidEisenstadt or Andrea Vandenberg
The Communications Group
1-800-267-4476 x 36 or 23
deisenstadt@tcgpr.com or avandenberg@tcgpr.com

‘GLOBAL VIRTUAL UNIVERSITIES OF TERRORISM’ HIGHLIGHTED IN INTERNET REPORT IN LONDON, BY FRIENDS OF SIMON WIESENTHALCENTER

LONDON, ON -- The number of terror and hate websites, newsgroups, blogs, chat rooms and online clubs hassurged above 6,000.....representing a 20 per cent spike over last year. That’s the finding of the 2006 edition of Digital Terrorism and Hate, an interactive Report released today in London, byFriends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

The CD-ROM is the eighth Report (with French and Spanish commentary) and is regarded as the most thorough global analysis anddescription of the state of on-line terrorism and hate-related activities.

According to Leo Adler, Friends’ Director of National Affairs, “Looking beyond the numbers, online activities have undergone aqualitative shift that present existential threats to society. The Internet has become a ‘virtual university’ for terrorists with manuals from how to build a ‘dirty bomb’ and make poisons, totutorials on how to use global positioning devices or attack a motorcade.

“Canadian authorities certainly have shown awareness of Internet hate activities. But the increasing promotion of weaponsof mass destruction requires a more robust strategy, greater resources and more timely awareness of a rapidly changing and growing threat to Canada and the world,” added Adler.

Copies of Digital Terrorism and Hate 2006 are available free of charge to law enforcement agencies, educational institutions andthe news media.

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ABOUT FRIENDS OF SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST STUDIES
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies is a Canadian human rights organization dedicated to fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educationaloutreach and social action. With over 40,000 members of all faiths around the world, it confronts important contemporary issues including racism, anti-Semitism, terrorism and genocide. Friends isaffiliated with the world-wide, Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, an accredited Non-Government Organization with status at international agencies, including the United Nations, UNESCO,OSCE and the Council of Europe, with offices in New York, Miami, Paris, Jerusalem, Buenos Aires, and Toronto. Simon Wiesenthal died in 2005 after devoting his life to preserving thememories of the victims of the Holocaust, while simultaneously seeking justice for the war criminals. Visit: www.fswc.ca