(emailed today to editorial@thejc.com, letters@thejc.com)
To the Jewish Chronicle,
It has come to my attention that JC writer David Aaronovitch libeled me a recent article.
Aaronivitch characterized my views on the Nazi holocaust in a false and defamatory manner when he wrote: "(Richard) Gage himself has appeared on a US radio programme hosted by one Kevin Barrett, who has described the Holocaust as a 'destructive myth.'"
Aaronovitch either recklessly or intentionally neglected to mention that when I speak of the Holocaust as a myth, I always make it clear that I am using the scholarly sense of the word myth (sacred narrative) rather than the vernacular sense (lie, false account). Additionally, I have on literally hundreds of occasions made statements that make it clear that I do not dispute the gist of the standard Western historical account of German mass murders of Gypsies, Jews, homosexuals, communists, handicapped people, slavs, and so on during World War II. What I object to is the way this historical narrative has been made sacred (i.e. a myth) and used to justify the invasion, occupation, and ethnic cleansing of Palestine - despite the fact that the Palestinians had nothing to do with the Germans' crimes. One might as well turn the firebombings of Dresden, Tokyo and other cities, and the nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, into a sacred myth justifying the mass murder and expulsion of the natives of India to make way for the Germans and Japanese.
By falsely implying that I deny the standard account of these Nazi murders, Aaronivitch commits libel. Indeed, he accuses me of a speech act that is a crime in many Western European countries, including some I traveled through shortly before he published his libel!
I look forward to an apology from the editors and Mr. Aaronovitch.
Sincerely
Dr. Kevin BarrettLabels: david aaronovitch, holocaust, holocaust denial, holocaust revisionism, jewish chronicle, libel, richard gage
