Israel National News, Israel
by Avraham Zuroff
(IsraelNN.com) Holocaust-denying Bishop Richard Williamson is on a flight to his British home, after being ousted by the Argentinian government. Williamson was ordered to leave Argentina after he refused to repeal his denial of the existence of Nazi gas chambers. Holocaust denial is against Argentinian law.
The bishop’s attempt to avoid publicity by sporting dark glasses and a cap was thwarted by a Todo Noticias new channel reporter. Before boarding his British Air flight from Buenos Aires, Williamson raised a clenched fist at the reporter's face and him the reporter into a pole with his shoulder as he hurried to catch his flight to London. Twe men escorting the bishop then grabbed the reporter and held him back while Williamson continued on his way.
The British bishop, who left his post in Argentina, is unapologetic for his Holocaust-denying views. Williamson previously apologized to Pope Benedict XVI for creating a controversy but did not recant his assertions that only 300,000 Jews died in the Holocaust, mostly of starvation, as he said in a Swedish television news interview last month. The Holy See informed Williamson that he would be required to recant his views before he could be fully readmitted to the Roman Catholic Church.
The Argentinian government last Thursday gave the British-born bishop 10 days to leave the country. They condemned his views on the Holocaust as "deeply offensive to Argentine society, the Jewish people and humanity." He was also sacked from the seminary that he headed.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder applauded on Monday Argentina’s decision to oust Williamson. “This decision is commendable, even more so because the government of Argentina makes it crystal clear that Holocaust deniers are not welcome in the country. Sadly, other countries and governments are much less inclined to crack down on any attempts to denigrate the victims of the Shoah,” Lauder stated. “For this courageous decision, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her administration once again deserve praise,” the Jewish leader added.
In Britain, Bishop Williamson could face extradition by German prosecutors for his interview there, which was broadcast on Swedish television, in which he stated, "There were no gas chambers."
