for publicizing his racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Arthur Topham, 68, of British Columbia has been convicted of promoting hatred against the Jewish people through his website. B’nai Brith was among the first complainants to reach out to the RCMP regarding Topham’s postings which have been replete with racist attacks against the Jewish community. For years Topham has focused his outlandish conspiracy theories directly at B’nai Brith for its leadership in holding him to account for willfully promoting hatred against Jews.
“The court has made the right decision, one which sends a clear message that Canada will not tolerate those who seek to actively promote racism, hatred and bigotry through hate-speech,” said Michael Mostyn. “Topham’s bizarre antisemitic conspiracy theories and his repeated demonization of the Jewish people are far beyond the limits of what civil society would consider to be protected speech. While we recognize that freedom of speech is the cornerstone of a free and democratic society, Topham’s postings crossed a line when he began to actively assert the need for genocide of the Jewish people, saying that there is only ‘one mode of ridding the world forces of Zionism — and that is to stem the source from which issue those war-lusted souls, by preventing the people of Israel from ever again reproducing their kind.’ (Source: Israel Must Perish! by Arthur Topham)
“As B’nai Brith’s Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents has shown year after year, hate-speech is closely correlated with antisemitic incidents and attacks on the Jewish community. Hateful thoughts lead to hateful speech, and hateful speech can ultimately lead to hateful actions. For over 30 years, B’nai Brith has operated Canada’s only 24-hour anti-hate hotline which provides assistance to those who have been the victims of antisemitism and it is decisions of this nature which reaffirm the importance of this vital community resource.
“We would like to thank everyone involved in the long process of putting a stop to these hateful activities, including the RCMP and the many Canadians from coast to coast who reached out to B’nai Brith to express their concerns regarding this hateful website.”
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