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neo-Nazi website threatening an anti-Iran activist
03.11.2010.10:41
 It is not easy to scare Simone Dinah Hartmann, but lately she has been fearing for her life. Although she resides in serene Vienna, Hartmann is not convinced the law enforcement officials in Austria are sufficiently aware of the dangers threatening her. Her concerns come in the wake of the racist and anti-Semitic neo-Nazi Web site alpen-donau.info (in German) recently posting her photograph accompanied by derogatory comments - basically marking her as a target for assassination.
Hartmann, an energetic and opinionated woman in her thirties, is the driving force behind Stop the Bomb, an international organization which for several years has been waging an aggressive campaign against firms and governments in Europe that maintain commercial ties with Iran and thus assist the regime of the ayatollahs in promoting its nuclear program. The organization's goal is to get European countries to reduce, if not discontinue, their ties with Iran - in the hope that economic pressure will cause Iran's leaders to abandon their plan to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Stop the Bomb is a coalition of Jewish and non-Jewish groups and activists - including Iranian opposition organizations - operating mainly in Austria and Germany, with small branches in Spain, France and England as well. Among other things, its members organize demonstrations, distribute flyers and send letters to politicians, executives and other shapers of public opinion. Initially, Stop the Bomb struggled to make an impression, with very few people paying it any attention. But its activities are gradually gaining exposure, especially after its leaders managed to spark some media interest.
One of the group's big successes was the recent announcement by international conglomerate Siemens - which conducts more business in Iran than any other German firm - that it will stop signing new contracts there. Siemens had been a central target for Stop the Bomb, whose activists demonstrated outside the company shareholders' annual meetings, demanding the firm discontinue ties with Iran.
In Austria, coalition members targeted energy concern OMV - one quarter of whose shares are owned by the Austrian government. Over two years ago, OMV signed a deal worth about 22 million euros to develop gas fields in Iran and build a natural gas pipeline from Iran to Europe. The future of the transaction is not clear, one reason being the vocal protest sounded by Hartmann and her colleagues.
That is the background to the hate article posted online, against her and against the organization's activities, which also includes implied and specific threats to her life as well as grave anti-Semitic comments. The article is entitled: "How Jews Agitate against States."
According to the article: "For about two years, we have witnessed the nastiest and most irreconcilable hate campaign on the part of 'our' media - against the Iranian state, its president and its people. Jewish lobby groups have been busily spreading their venom. Most prominent of all hate mongers - distraught Jew and anti-German Simone Dinah Hartmann.
"A 'nice' little picture, taken from Hartmann's unbearable hate site 'Free Iran,' who - as can be seen above - takes her fight for democracy and the rule of law very seriously. One inevitably feels reminded of the Jewish festival of Purim."
Another gem from the site: "Ms. Hartmann belongs to the sort of Jews who label everything short of unconditional philo-Semitism as 'anti-Semitism.'"
Later, the neo-Nazi Web site quotes verses from the Talmud - ostensibly meant to prove that the world belongs to the Jews and that they are the chosen people. But the site concludes the deceptive article as follows: "We do not want an Islamization of Europe, but we don't care about Israel. As far as we are concerned, the Jews can choke on the world's hatred: as the self-appointed 'only chosen people,' they have brought it on themselves.
"The Islamization of Europe has nothing to do with the Palestinian self-defense against 'Israel's' war of extermination," the article continues. "Our fight against the Islamization of Europe has nothing to do with our friendship with the last free state, Iran!"
The site's writers do not identify themselves and operate from a server registered in the United States, via a circuitous registration of various straw companies. Austrian experts on the subject, however, fear important Austrian neo-Nazi activists are responsible for the site's content. One assessment is that those running and supporting the site have ties with the Freedom Party of Austria. This party's popularity has been on the rise, with political pundits expecting it to gain more seats in the coming parliamentary elections, beyond the 17 percent it currently holds. Party head Heinz-Christian Strache recently granted an interview to Adar Primor of Haaretz in which he tried to renounce his past connections with neo-Nazi organizations.
An Austrian research institute that follows the activities of the country's far-right groups recently wrote that "publishing pictures, names and addresses of those described as rivals presents a particular threat. This [tactic] is designed to force anyone whose details have been published to cease his activities. Considering the tremendous hatred and great potential for violence among the community of neo-Nazi organizations, such postings represent a clear threat as the readers are encouraged to 'make contact' with the individuals mentioned."
Hartmann says she has overcome the initial shock of seeing her name and photograph on the Web site, and will continue her campaign. She has filed a complaint with the police, but has a feeling the police and the Justice Ministry do not take the site and the threats it is voicing against her and her colleagues at Stop the Bomb seriously enough.
"The law enforcement authorities in Austria claim they can't do anything, because the site is operated from the U.S., and therefore they don't know who is behind it either," she says. "But it's clear to everyone that there are ways of obtaining such information. Besides, in Austria the law forbids neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic activity. I would've expected the authorities to shut down the site and arrest its members."
A spokesman for the Austrian Interior Ministry, Rudolf Gollia, admitted that some of the site's content violates Austrian law. He emphasized that "every complaint filed with the police and the prosecutor general is investigated, and based on the conclusions of the investigation a decision is made as to whether protection to the plaintiff will be provided, and what kind of protection. We are well aware of the issue, keep track of developments and do everything possible to fulfill our obligation." He refused to explain exactly what measures are employed by the Austrian police and the Justice Ministry.
haaretz
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