Conference taveng::bagels

984.0. "Call to ACTION: WBZ-TV Revisionists" by SSGVAX::REDFIELD () Wed Oct 03 1990 05:00

First of all let me state that I have in the past been an avid reader of 
this Notesfile, albeit not a contributor.

I just returned from a meeting sponsored by FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES in 
Brookline.  The guest speaker was Allan Ryan Jr., currently with Harvard, 
but most known for his contributions as the first director of the OSI 
(Office of Special Investigations) of the Justice Department.  The OSI 
prime purpose was to bring those Nazi criminals who immigrated into the 
U.S. to trial.

I learned something tonight, something which disturbed me.

What I learned was that next Wednesday, on October 10 WBZ-TV in Boston was 
airing a show called "People are Talking" and is featuring a man by the 
name of Fred A. Leuchter Jr., a resident of Malden.  

Leuchter is a well known revisionist.  He has gained a "reputation" for 
attempting to prove the imbecilic notion that the Nazis did not use gas 
chambers to kill Jews.  His most recent "contribution" was his "expert" 
testimony at he May 1988 trial of Ernst Zundel in Toronto, another 
revisionist. 

Currently he is under investigation in a number of states and is actually 
being prosecuted in Massachusetts for "falsely impersonating an engineer" 
which is a criminal offense.  That case is scheduled for arraignment on 23 
October in Malden District Court.

The notion that WBZ-TV is airing a program to "debate" what is 
non-debatable is absurd. It is so absurd that I believe that it is 
demeaning to all the survivors that witnessed the Nazi atrocities.

I believe that a CALL TO ACTION of all similarly concerned parties is in 
order.  I suggest that at the very least a telephone call be made to WBZ-TV 
to protest this insult, this absurdity.

Now, before all the accusations of censorship and free press come out, I 
would like to state that I am not condoning censorship.  I leave to you 
to create a message that you believe should be delivered to WBZ-TV.  I 
might suggest any or all of the following:

	1. Change the theme to be a discussion about revisionists and
		bring experts in to discuss facts (Ryan would participate
		under those circumstances).
	2. Suggest another program to expose revisionists for what they 
		truly represent.
	3. Insure that your personal feelings are known by WBZ-TV

Contacts:

	WBZ-TV Producer of "People are Talking" is Melanie Friedman; she
	can be reached at 617-787-7109.

	Alternately a call can also be made to the office of the Program
	Director or the Station Manager.

Thank you,

Carl

    Will this be live?  If so, they won't have any religious Jews available
    to debate October 10 is Shmini Atzeret!
    
    				Paul
    

As far as I know it is live...BUT THE ISSUE IS NOT A DEBATEABLE ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Debating this type of %@$# is like debating whether or not a man has walked 
on the moon.  These "debates" can add credibility to a non-credible issue.

Carl

>================================================================================
>Note 984.1             Call to ACTION: WBZ-TV Revisionists                1 of 1
>YOUNG::YOUNG                                          5 lines   3-OCT-1990 18:48
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                         -< I won't even get to watch >-
>
>    Will this be live?  If so, they won't have any religious Jews available
>    to debate October 10 is Shmini Atzeret!
>    
>                                Paul
>    
>

    I called the person and number listed in the base note yesterday to
    voice my objections to the Leuchter appearance. I basically just left a
    message for Melanie Friedman and was told she would get back to be.
    Although I was not physically there to take the call, the voice message
    said something to the effect that "This is Kathy so-and-so of the
    People Are Talking Show. I'm returning your call... Due to the Jewish
    Holidays, the show on the Holocaust will not be shown and there are no
    plans to reschedule it at this time".
    
    Dick

Thanks to all the folks calling the show has been cancelled.

One can make a difference!

Thanks