Holocaust Denial Protestant Website Sullies Cordoba Initiative Against Antisemitism

CENTRE SIMON WIESENTHAL - EUROPE
Association à but non-lucratif - loi du 1er juillet 1901
64, avenue Marceau, 75008 Paris, France
Tel: +33 (0) 1 47 23 76 37
Fax: +33 (0) 1 47 20 84 01
E-mail: csweurope@compuserve.com

Wiesenthal Centre to Spanish Foreign Minister: "Close Down Holocaust Denial Protestant Website thatSullies Cordoba Initiative Against Antisemitism"

In a letter to Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Moratinos, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director forInternational Affairs, Dr Shimon Samuels, highlighted an attack on the 55 state party OSCE conference on "Antisemitism and Other Forms of Intolerance", hosted by Spain last monthin Cordoba.

Samuels stated, "the effort put into that initiative has been sullied, in both Spanish and English, by the websitewww.protestantedigital.com/hemeroteca/086/enfoque.htm which viciously attacks the Cordoba programme. This is the mouthpiece for Juan Antonio Monroy, former President of theFederation of Evangelical Religious Entities in Spain (FEREDE)."

The letter explained that "Monroy is a violent anti-Catholic, antisemite and Holocaust denier. He is not only anembarrassment to the one and a half million Protestants in Spain, but abuses Spanish freedom of expression by his incitement to Jew-hatred. His article 'Until When theHolocaust?', and his promotion of 'The Myth of the Six Millions' by J.Bochaca (published by Ediciones Bau of Barcelona) are in violation of Spanish law and European Unionprovisions regarding Holocaust revisionism and genocide apologetics", adding that "above all, Monroy's website is an offense to Spain in its assault on your country's declaredpolicy to contain antisemitism."

The Centre urged the Minister "to publicly condemn the statement of Monroy and to take all measures under Spanishjurisprudence to close his website and charge him for promoting racism."

Monroy's site also mentions that he is "the recipient of a Doctor Honoris Causa" from Pepperdine University andThe Theological (Evangelical) Seminary of Puerto Rico.

Samuels also wrote to Presidents Andrew Benton and Sergio Ojeda-Cárcamo, of these two American institutionsrespectively, noting that "by such

association, Monroy and his website bring offense to your academic reputation by tainting it with racism." TheCentre called the campus Presidents "to condemn the statements of Monroy and to strip him of the honorary academic decoration you have accorded to him", emphasizing that "thismeasure will set a pedagogical example that there is no place for racism in academia."

For further information, please contact Dr. Samuels at +33 6 09 77 01 58.