Slanders and Replies

This section of the book is introduced by a short note stating Ben Abraham has always replied to any articles or letters he considered anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli. He says he has done that in accordance with the Brazilian press law, which guarantees the right of reply in the same space and column where the offensive piece had been published.

May 2nd 1990
“Letter in response to Ellwanger’s slanders”
Correio do Povo

Ben Abraham sent a letter that was published by the Correio do Povo newspaper in May, 2nd, 1990, in which Ellwanger called him a liar.
His response was affirming Ellwanger would have to respond to justice for his lies and that his challenge for a public debate between the two remained open, since Ellwanger had not attended the previous one, at Ben Abraham’s invitation.

Feb 12th 1991
Letter from the The Sherit Hapleitá Brazil Association
O Estado de S. Paulo

The Sherit Hapleitá Brazil association sent a telegram to the editors of OESP newspaper to protest the publication, in Jan 1991, of a caricature portraying a representation of a Jew, similar to what used to be published by the Nazi newspaper ‘Der Stürmer’. The newspaper called Abraham to apologize and published the telegram it its edition of February 12th.

Feb 1992
“Truth must be said”
O Diário

Ben Abraham wrote a letter to the newspaper O Diário, in response to an unsigned article published in Feb 22nd, 1992. The author of that article mentioned an Israeli incursion into Lebanon, resulting in the death of 4 Lebanese citizens and 2 soldiers of the UNO. The article slammed Israel as a criminal state, comparing it to Nazi Germany and affirming it only survives at the expense of the Nazi ghost. The article closed by affirming the Jews were the greatest enemies of mankind.
Ben Abraham affirms in his response that the author of the article had infringed the Brazilian law Afonso Arinos and the Brazilian Constitution, by expressing racial and religious discrimination. He says there is a difference between freedom of expression and slander. Also, he affirms that although he was not an unconditional follower of Israeli foreign policy, he knew the incursion into Lebanon had been a response to an Shiite attack against Israeli soldiers sleeping in a camp. Finally, he reminds the readers about the contributions of Jewish cientists in the fields of medicine and technology, which became available to all mankind.

June 25th 1992
“Evil comparison”
Folha de S. Paulo

Ben Abraham sent a letter to Folha de S. Paulo newspaper in response to a letter from a reader published two days before. In that letter, the reader compared the swastika to the Star of David, in his allusion to a project of law that would forbid the display of the Israeli symbol in the city of Sao Paulo.
Ben Abraham says that comparison is either evil or ignorant, since while the swastika had been abolished by Law in Germany because it symbolizes a murderous regime, the Star of David represents a millennial people who had risen from ashes to build a free and independent country.

“Reply to Ellwanger’s article”
Diário do Povo

Ben Abraham whote this article in response to a piece written by Ellwanger and published by the Diário de Petrópolis newspaper (the date is not mentioned in the book). Quoting a statement by US prosecutor Robert Jackson, he denounces Ellwanger for trying to invert History 48 years after the Nuremberg trials. According to Ben Abraham, Ellwanger offered a reward of CR$ 6 million to anyone that could prove the existence of gas chambers in Auschwitz, which are preserved by the Polish government and the UNESCO and open to public view. Ben Abraham mentions that Ellwanger was sentenced guilty of slander for one of his books and affirmed that the replacement of Auschwitz’ plates happened because they did not mention specifically the number of Jews killed in the camp, but referred to the 4 million people of different groups who had been killed there. He also says Ellwanger was probably not going to pay the reward to anyone, since he had not fulfilled his promise of quitting his publishing house if he weren’t able to prove that Ben Abraham was a liar before the Brazilian Justice.