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Anti-semitic Poem Sparks Demand for Action from British Jewry

February 1, 1991
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A crude anti-Semitic rhyme mailed to Jewish organizations and businesses has been referred to the attorney general by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Titled “Holohoax” by “Simon Wiesenstool,” a pun on the name of the famous Nazi-hunter, it mocks the Holocaust and pokes fun at the gassing of Jews.

The Board of Deputies expressed confidence that action will be taken. It pointed out that the attorney general only last week approved the first two prosecutions for circulating anti-Semitic material under the 1986 Public Order Act.

That should at least serve as a deterrent, the Board of Deputies said.

The authorship is unknown. It appears to be the same that contrived “Yiddery-Pokery,” an earlier doggerel pillorying Jews who were convicted in the Guinness affair, which involved stock market manipulation.

That title was a takeoff on “jiggery-pokery,” an archaic expression referring to illicit activities.

The publisher styles itself “Gentile Awareness League,” which officials believe is a fictitious name.

According to the Board of Deputies, at least 20 Jewish organizations received copies of the “poem” in the mail in December.

So did Compco, a West End property development company whose managing director, Robert Nadler, is Jewish.

The Board of Deputies said the circulation of anti-Semitic material has been on the rise in Britain in the last two years. It has referred more than 20 samples to the attorney general.

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