Friday July 20, 2:30 pm Eastern Time

Press Release

American Jewish Committee Applauds British Appellate Court Ruling Against Holocaust Denier

NEW YORK, July 20 [PRNewswire] -- The American Jewish Committee is applauding today's ruling of the Court of Appeal in London, which refused Holocaust denier David Irving's application to appeal the verdict against him last year, when he sued American professor Deborah Lipstadt for libel.

The Court of Appeal ruling upheld Judge Charles Gray's lower court judgment that Irving had distorted and manipulated history in order to promote his anti-Semitic, racist, and far-right politics, and that Irving is a pro-Nazi polemicist. Judge Gray held that Dr. Lipstadt was justified in calling Mr. Irving a Holocaust denier in her book "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory."

As the Court of Appeal noted today, Irving didn't even challenge any of Judge Gray's findings about his anti-Semitism, racism, and far-right extremist associations.

"While the ruling today will not end Holocaust denial, it is a significant victory for truth," said the American Jewish Committee. "Professor Lipstadt should be commended for her courage in exposing the lies and agenda of Holocaust deniers."

The American Jewish Committee played a significant role in establishing the web site Holocaustdenialontrial.org, now affiliated with Emory University. The site houses the expert reports and trial submissions that proved the case against Irving, and showed his close connections with many American extremists, including the neo-Nazi group National Alliance, and the white supremacist and former Klansman David Duke.