‘Hate Speech Laws Won’t Stop Anti-Semitism’

Europe will not stem the tide of anti-Semitism by prosecuting hate speech and should focus instead on getting society to speak out against it, a US envoy said Monday in Sweden, AFP reported.

 

“We understand that it’s often very difficult to prosecute hate speech,” the American special envoy against anti-Semitism Ira Forman told journalists in the southern city of Malmo.

 

“So it’s absolutely essential that political leaders but also society’s leaders – clergy, leaders of non-profits, business leaders, just community leaders in general – when they see anti-Semitism, as well as other forms of racism and discrimination, that they speak out,” he said.

 

Forman’s trip to Malmo was prompted by its high level of hate crimes against Jews, a problem the city’s former mayor Ilmar Reepalu blamed in 2010 on Jewish residents supporting Israel’s policies.

 

“We do not believe in prosecuting hate speech except in the most extreme circumstances when it’s encouraging immediate violence,” Forman said of the American perspective. “That’s one difference we’re going to have with a lot of our European allies.”

 

Read More: ‘Hate Speech Laws Won’t Stop Anti-Semitism’ – Global Agenda – News – Arutz Sheva