AGAINST ZIONISM

The American Jewish Committee  (AJC) has sued People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), charging PETA with numerous instances of Holocaust denial, trademark infringement, religious insensitivity, and “pig worship” – all of which are deeply offensive to people of the Jewish faith.

“We tolerated these attacks as long as possible,” said Mordecai Lowenstein, lead attorney for the AJC. “Now, unfortunately, it has come to this.”

The AJC is seeking $86.4 billion in compensation allegedly denied to Holocaust victims because of P.E.T.A.’s activities.

“It started with their exploitation of the Holocaust to increase awareness of the so-called plight of animals in vivisection labs,” Lowenstein said. “By using photographs and textual materials that mention the Holocaust, PETA appropriated a trademarked event that Jews own the exclusive copyright to.”

The AJC lawsuit itemizes PETA images that compare the Holocaust to the torture of countless millions of animals. “The Lord created animals for man’s use,” Lowenstein said.  “Of course, that’s a matter of faith, but the Holocaust is a matter of documented fact. To compare the deaths of a handful of animals to sixty million Jewish victims is sheer evil.”

PETA spokesperson Tracy Jackson said there was never any intention to offend anyone, and the images raised awareness of both the Holocaust and animal cruelty. Moreover, PETA stopped using the images the first time a complaint was received. Also PETA’s activism addresses countless millions of animals, not just a handful.

Lowenstein admitted all this, but said, “The damage to Holocaust victims had already been done, and the infringement on a copyrighted event still stands.”

The Holocaust is the only event that has ever been ever granted a legal copyright. Since 1973, all publishers, movie studios, and TV stations have been required to get permission from the Simon Wiesenthal Center before citing anything connected with World War II and the Jewish people. Permission fees range from ten thousand dollars for a magazine article to tens of millions with major motion pictures. The only exceptions are Jewish producers and directors, for whom the fee is waived. Last year, two independent moviemakers announced projects that dealt with the Holocaust, but canceled their plans when they could not raise enough money to purchase permission. Both moviemakers were consequently sued for Holocaust denial, and are no longer in the motion picture industry.

PETA spokesperson Tracy Jackson said the lawsuit came as a surprise. “It seems strange that non-Jewish people are required to pay to promote a Jewish message. You’d think that Jewish organizations would be happy to have the Holocaust mentioned in any media product.”

“We certainly endorse any project that advances Holocaust education,” Lowenstein responded, “but when people refuse to pay the appropriate fees, education becomes exploitation. Almost twenty percent of the fees are forwarded to Holocaust victims, which are growing in number ever year. To sidestep those fees is to force Holocaust victims to suffer all over again.”

A number of authors and playwrights have sought to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings by not mentioning the Holocaust at all in their works. Lowenstein said the AJC will respond to this attack by filing a separate class action lawsuit against the entire publishing industry next month. “An organization, or even an industry can be just as guilty of Holocaust denial as an individual,” Lowenstein said. “When the Holocaust is singled out for non-mention, silence is the same as denial.”

 Lowenstein was asked why he felt that PETA is anti-Semitic.

“Some of its members are students,” he said, “and have privately called for their schools to divest from Israel. This is the same as Nazi book-burning, since it would shut out ideas from Israeli educators.  We agree with PETA that the responsibility for ending a conflict lies with the agressor. Unfortunately PETA’s rampant anti-Semitism causes its members to regard Israel as the aggressor.”

The AJC lawsuit’s charge of “pig worship” stems from a PETA’s success in convincing Smithfield Foods, the largest flesh-producing company in the world, to phase out gestation crates in its U.S. operations within 10 years. Mother pigs, for example, are confined for their entire lives to cages made of metal bars and cement floors. The cages are so small that the pigs cannot turn around, or take more than one step forward or backward. (See photo above).

“PETA knows, or should have known, that Jewish people do not eat pork,” Lowenstein said. “PETA’s deliberate support for pigs is a cynical attack on Jewish people in general, and Holocaust victims in particular. During World War II, Nazis referred to Jewish victims as swine. Today, PETA champions swine in order to support Hitler and all he stood for.”

“Ridiculous,” Tracy Jackson said. “To say that the defense of a tortured animal is the same as being a Nazi is incomprehensible. It twists logic beyond all reason.”

 Lowenstein says this reaction is to be expected. “When villains are caught, they devise many rationalizations for their evil. Some of their excuses are quite clever, but no excuse can obviate the difference between right and wrong.”

The lawsuit was initially brought before judge William Peterson of the 11th Federal District, but was temporarily suspended after Peterson suffered a strange and fatal car accident while driving to court. The case is now being heard by Judge Rachel Goldstein, who promises a fair and impartial treatment. PETA objected to the new judge on the grounds that Ms. Goldstein is a member of the American Jewish Committee, but was silenced when the judge threatened PETA with contempt of court citation on the grounds of blatant anti-Semitism.