We, the Urbana-Champaign IMC, support IMC Switzerland in its mission of providing an open and independent channel of public communication. We are saddened that IMC Switzerland is currently offline as a consequence of the legal action by Aktion Kinder der Holocaust. We pledge our solidarity and support.

This controversy pits two important but irreconcilable principles against each other: on one hand, unfettered, uncensored free speech; on the other, the repudiation of racist and antisemitic rhetoric. The Urbana-Champaign IMC has also found itself caught between these two principles in the past, and we recognize the significant moral and ethical quandary IMC Switzerland finds itself in.

The cartoon panel at the heart of the controversy is part of a series critical of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians. It bears repeating that it is not the pro-Palestinian stance which is at question here. It is only the final panel, which by implication equated the Israelis with the Nazis, which triggered the ADKH protest.

We do not accuse the cartoonist Latuff of antisemitism, although we believe that he had not fully considered the moral implications of the cartoon panel at the time of its posting, and we believe he has not yet shown any real understanding of the core complaint against him. He boasts of "having struck a nerve"; he has, but not the one he thinks.

In particular, we must explicitly reject as repugnant the rhetorical device of equating Israeli policy with Nazism, a hyperbolic comparison that is at best tasteless, deeply offensive to most Jews and Germans, and historically untenable. The Nazi "Final Solution" killed nearly one third of the world's Jewish population within half a dozen years; the AKDH is not wrong to assert that such ground should be tread lightly. We accept that their motivation comes not from a desire to stifle criticism of Israel, as has been alleged, but as a genuine cri de coeur.

Nevertheless, the mission of the IMC movement requires that free speech must prevail. IMC Switzerland exercised sound moral judgement in deprecating but not removing the cartoon. We feel that this is a perfectly acceptable solution.

We call upon the AKDH in friendship to reconsider their suit against IMC Switzerland. Proceeding against the IMC would be, we strongly believe, ineffective or even counterproductive. The Latuff panel is, ultimately, too insignificant to merit the closing of IMC Switzerland. Given its international nature, the Internet cannot be purged of all expressions of antisemitism -- or any other type of insanity. But the Internet also allows for new opportunities for education and bridge-building, and we find it more productive to concentrate our energies there.

We send all our best wishes to IMC Switzerland in hopes that their site will soon rejoin IMCs throughout the world, giving voice to the voiceless.

i haven't been able to follow this story closely....

but the posted cartoon is intense.... really focuses the viewers' attentions.

congrats Urbana!!

keep on coding!

Those of us from Holocaust families who support the Palestinian liberation struggle know for sure that the Zionist State of Israel is no different from Nazi Germany in its actions against the Palestinians. This should come as no surprise. The Zionists have a history of cooperation with the Nazis, including the Transfer Agreement, a means by which certain Zionist lives were saved by breaking the boycott of Nazi goods, which existed in the 1930s. The State of Israel is a fascist, racist, militaristic, theocratic puppet state of US oil imperialism. Latuff's drawings are not anti-Semitic at all, and remember both Jews and Arabs are Semites. The horrifying actions on the part of the State of Israel against the Palestinians are completely indefensible and the Zionists who shake the Holocaust schtick are utterly despicable and hypocritical.

The Zionists were in fact nowhere to be found when it came to resisting the Holocaust. Regardless of political ideology, it is understood by most of the Jewish Community that it was the Red Army of the Soviet Union that literally saved our lives, as the turning point of WW2 was the Battle of Stalingrad and it was the Red Army that arrived in Berlin first.

In addition to the connection of Israel to Nazi Germany which does exist, the anti-Semitism which exists here in the US and has been expressed on Independent Media must be condemned and removed to "Hidden Articles." We had a series by some outfit claiming to represent Latinos, which spewed forth anti-Semitism since they wanted to be the capitalist representatives of the Latino population, and not the Zionists, although both support capitalism. I do not believe they represent Latinos; I believe they represent one of the many fascist groups we have in the US.

There is a vast difference between asking an article be removed or moved to a different section and shutting down a website. The Zionists must be condemned for this censorship and for their torture and murder of the Palestinian people, and theft of their homes and orchards, all with American tax dollars.