This July, David Irving, a British neo-fascist and fraudulent historian, goes on the road in the United States, planning to hold approximately one and a half dozen speaking engagements over the course of a month. As militant anti-racists and anti-fascists, we are making a public call for resistance at each stop along the way of this tour.

Who is David Irving?

David Irving is a British writer of histories who has been involved with the fascist political scene since the 1960s. Always known for the pro-Hitler bias of his books, approximately two decades ago Irving made the transition to being a fully-fledged Holocaust-denier, when he testified at the trial of neo-Nazi Ernst Zündel in Canada, and also arranged the publication of Fred Leuchter's widely-refuted report on gas chambers at Auschwitz. In addition to spreading blatant historical lies, Irving has publicly stated that "The Jews are the architects of their own misfortune". Unsurprisingly, Irving has been an extremely popular speaker at neo-Nazi rallies in Germany.

In the British libel case Irving v. Penguin Books and Lipstadt, the final ruling in favor of the defendants confirmed that Irving "is an active Holocaust denier" and that "he is anti-Semitic and racist and that he associates with right-wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism." In 2006, Irving was jailed in Austria after pleading guilty to a charge of "trivializing the Holocaust", which is a crime in that county. Since his release, Irving has been marketing himself as a former "political prisoner".

Why Oppose These Events?

Irving's current tour focuses on "Re-writing history, using the decoded Nazi messages" (see: focal.org). The re-writing of Third Reich history—especially in relation to the Nazi "Final Solution" for Europe's Jewish population—is a major preoccupation for modern neo-Nazis and neo-fascists, who correctly believe that memory of the Holocaust is a significant barrier to the mainstreaming of their beliefs. The Holocaust is denied so that, paradoxically, it can be repeated. Wherever Irving appears, he is backed and promoted by virulent anti-Semites and fascist organizers.

Irving's bogus history is both blatantly offensive and incorrect. However, we oppose Irving not for what he thinks, but rather for what he does. As the name of his own publishing project suggests, Irving serves as a "focal point" to bring Jew-haters and goose-steppers together. He is part of a political tendency that is actively organizing for ethnic and racial hostilities, and in particular to persecute Jewish people. (James von Brunn's murder of a security guard at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is one recent example of where this anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi tendency can lead. Von Brunn moved within many of the same circles that promote Irving's work.)

We believe that fascist activism and movement-building should meet with organized resistance. As the Anti-Racist Action Network states in its Points of Unity:

"Whenever fascists are organizing or active in public, we're there. We don't believe in ignoring them or staying away from them. Never let the nazis have the street!"

We invite you to help this effort along, by organizing in your own community.

When and Where?

At present, the dates for Irving's speaking tour are as follows:

July 3 Friday: Kansas City, 19:00
July 6 Monday: Oklahoma City, 19:00
July 8 Wednesday: Albuquerque, 19:00
July 10 Friday: Phoenix, 19:00
July 12 Sunday: Las Vegas, buffet, 19:00
July 13 Monday: Salt Lake City, buffet, 19:00
July 15 Wednesday: Boise, buffet, 19:00
July 16 Thursday: Spokane, buffet, 19:00
July 18 Saturday: Seattle 15:00
July 19 Sunday: Portland, OR, buffet, 15:00
July 22 Wednesday: Sacramento, buffet,18:30
July 23 Thursday: San Francisco, buffet 18:30
July 25 Saturday: Costa Mesa, 18:30
July 26 Sunday: Sherman Oaks, 15:00
July 29 Wednesday: Denver, 19:00
July 30 Thursday: Omaha, 19:00
July 31 Friday: Chicago incl. de luxe dinner, 19:00

The exact location of Irving's talk in each city has not been made public, due to Irving's fear of encountering the opposition he so richly deserves. Any determined group of individuals ought to be able to pinpoint the event location in their city, however. Many of these events are probably booked under false pretexts, and venue owners may not necessarily know who they are hosting.

Further dates may be added (or subtracted!) as the tour progresses. Irving also plans to speak on the East Coast later this year, although dates have not been announced for this yet. Let's set the tone for the East Coast wing of Irving's tour right now!

No platform for fascists, no compromise!

- Rose City Antifa / Portland
ARA fight_them_back [at] riseup [dot] net
971.533.7832 (voicemail)

Yesterday, June 27 2009 in Houston, Texas, white supremacists intended to hold a memorial for a dead nazi creepball David Lane. Dave was a member of an armed white supremacist group called "the Order," and kicked the bucket in federal prison in 2007 where he was serving time for the murder of Jewish radio host Allen Berg.

When the so-called "Aryan Front Line Skinheads" declared their intention to distribute copies of Dave's racist rants in the Houston area, antifascists immediately went on the alert. The boneheads tried to be clever by waiting until 11pm the night before to post an actual location, but antifa were already standing by. The call went out, and in the morning our scouts were on location at the downtown federal building where the fascist goons planned to gather. Antifascists from around the city began gathering in a downtown park at 10 am. By eleven there were over 40 of us, and still no sign of the nazis.

With the boneheads beginning to look like a no-show, we marched to the nazi's gathering spot to commemorate David's death in our own way - with a large banner reading "The only good fascist is a dead fascist!" We stood in the pounding Texas sun ready and waiting, the different groups which had answered the antifa call chatting and bonding. With noon approaching and still no sign of the fash, we began to disperse, leaving scouts posted.

About ten minutes after the large antifa demonstration dispersed, a blue pickup truck pulled up and a woman with various swastika tattoos was spotted getting out with 3 goateed klansmen. We recognized the woman from our intel files as Kensa Chandler, a nazi bonehead who moved to Houston from Los Angeles several years ago. The scouts sounded the alarm and Antifa began to reconvene around the corner. Now about 25 strong, we rounded the corner and descended on the fascists before they even had a chance to finish unpacking. Still sitting on their truck preparing literature, the white supremacists were completely surrounded by antifascists chanting "Nazis go home!"

As they began to cross the street, we split into two groups and kept them completely surrounded. For about ten minutes, Kensa tried to give a speech about her murderous hero to an empty street, while more and more of the antifascists made their way back to the scene. All the while, our spirited chants of "No nazis, no KKK, no fascist USA" echoed off the tall downtown buildings. Finally, the understanding that they had been completely outmanouvered penetrated the thick skulls of the nazi goons. They got back into their truck and made a quick exit, without having handed out a single flier.

Houston Anti-Racist Action would like to thank everyone who answered our emergency callout and helped stop these cretins in their tracks. By confronting the fascists now, while they are scattered and disorganized, we keep them from growing to the point where they are bombing and murdering like their sociopathic "hero" David Lane. Shout outs to Houston International Socialist Organization, Progressive Workers Organizing Committee, Texas RASH, Sedition Collective and all the courageous individuals who helped keep Houston's streets nazi-free!

Recent events have highlighted the fact that anti-Semitic organizers in Portland, Oregon are relying on "Leftist" spaces and groups to tolerate their efforts and ideology.

On Wednesday, June 10, Valdas Anelauskas, a self-described "white separatist" who is involved with Holocaust-denial circles, gave a presentation to a group of sympathizers in Portland, Oregon. The event was sponsored by the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance, and was initially scheduled to take place at the Laughing Horse Book & Video Collective.

Members of Rose City Antifascists ("Antifa") -the Portland affiliate of the Anti-Racist Action Network-were among those who contacted Laughing Horse Books about the scheduled event. The Laughing Horse collective canceled the anti-Semitic event within 48 hours of being notified about its true nature. Subsequently the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance moved Anelauskas' talk-on the topic of "The Frankfurt School and Cultural Marxism"-to a secondary venue, which was also discovered by Antifa and then persuaded to cancel on the day of the event. Unfortunately, Anelauskas' talk then went ahead at a third venue, a restaurant obviously booked at the last minute.

Valdas Anelauskas is a "racialist" (read: racist) activist currently based in Eugene, Oregon. This Lithuanian immigrant has assisted the World Anti-Communist League, an organization that supported Latin American death squads and has harbored former Nazi collaborators. Anelauskas is now active in the Pacifica Forum, a Eugene, Oregon organization which hosts Holocaust-denial speakers such as David Irving plus Mark Weber of the Institute for Historical Review. Anelauskas himself claims that the evidence for the Holocaust is "shaky", that Jewish people are responsible for "Bolshevism", and that the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion are credible. Anelauskas' position on Jewish people is clear:

"Only from people of that peculiar tribe can we expect such Talmudic hatred for humanity. There is even a famous saying that wars are the Jews' harvest."

While Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance activist Tim Titrud was one organizer for Anelauskas' talk in Portland, Titrud appears to have been assisted by a cast of several others, especially Tim Calvert, who is well-known in Portland as a co-founder of Laughing Horse Books as well as the Citybikes Workers' Cooperative. Calvert's conspiracy theories about Jewish power, and his denial of the Nazi genocide against the Jewish people, have been an open secret in Portland for years.

Footage of Anelauskas' speech, including an introduction by Tim Calvert, is available here.

The anti-Semitic, racist and fascistic nature of Anelauskas' presentation is obvious. We would like to note, however, Tim Calvert's insinuation during the introduction that his critics are actually state agents-an extremely dangerous claim to make in the absence of any evidence.

Rose City Antifa strongly opposes attempts to make excuses for anti-Semitism, or to pretend that it is any less poisonous than any other form of racism. Anelauskas' speaking event in Portland took place on the same day that white supremacist James von Brunn opened fire at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, murdering a security guard there.

By making its anti-Semitism explicit, and by organizing in association with racists, fascists and Holocaust-deniers, the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance has shown its true colors. It has cleared up any confusion in anti-fascist ranks about how we should consider the organization.

With all this stated, we applaud the Laughing Horse Books collective for its brave decision to cancel the Anelauskas event at the store. We have now received information that Tim Calvert has retired from Laughing Horse Books, although this may or may not actually be the case. Needless to say, we believe that Laughing Horse should not host any future events of the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance. We also believe that most of the Laughing Horse Books collective have acted commendably so far.

Rose City Antifa calls for the Citybikes Workers' Cooperative to remove Tim Calvert from the co-op, and to thereby stop putting food on his plate. We believe that those pushing organized Jew-hatred and pogrom politics should be collectively resisted. If a collective or co-op can't deal properly with an anti-Semitic activist within its ranks, then it does not deserve to be supported.

Other organizations involving Tim Calvert, such as the Cascadia Education Project, are also advised to take notice.

This statement is a beginning; other fascist collaborators should not consider themselves to have been let off the hook in any way.

No compromise and no half-measures!

- Rose City Antifa / Portland ARA
fight_them_back [at] riseup [dot] net
971.533.7832 (voicemail)