The mysterious case of the missing Broederbond conspiracy

The Media Review Network’s (MRN) Iqbal Jassat yesterday authored an article dismissing claims made by David Saks that the MRN had once showcased an unrepentantly anti-Semitic article on their website about a Jewish Broederbond conspiracy "which had ruled South Africa for the past 50 years and continues to dominate the power structures of our country."

This was but one of a number of items of evidence which Saks used to dispel claims made by MRN fangirl Virginia Tilley, who said that the MRN and Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) have a noble track record in campaigning against Israeli human rights abuses and that they high-mindedly insist on distinguishing between anti-Zionism and anti-racism.

Jassat responded to Saks’ accusations by simply denying them. Here’s his article entitled “Hajaig spat takes new turn as anti-semitism debates continue in the wake of new questions about Israel's future”. Jassat writes:

To support his knee-jerk response in the form of "evidence", Saks cited a document entitled "The Jewish-Broederbond Syndicate" as having featured on MRN’s website. Again – as in the case of Fatima Hajaig – Saks deliberately finds it expedient to not only isolate any context but to intentionally conflate issues in keeping with his objective to slanderously demonise MRN as anti-semitic. Since I have no recollection of any such article published on MRN’s website, my quick google search elicited 10 results – none of them listing Media Review Network as host. In any event, it may have featured alongside thousands of articles – many of them construed by the SAJBD as anti-semitic given that authors and journalists like Mathatha Tsedu, Anthony Holiday, Tim Modise, Barney Pityana and Virginia Tilley amongst others have been cited in annual "anti-semitism reports" compiled by Saks for the Stephen Roth Institute in Israel.

Ok, so Jassat is partly right. A search for ‘Jewish Broederbond Syndicate” does not implicate the MRN. But that’s a normal search on the content on his website today, which he knows doesn’t currently contain the offensive article. I remember that the article disappeared, quite suddenly, some time ago. I think I was one of a number of individuals that contacted Talk Radio 702 after they interviewed the MRN, and asked them to read some of the views that the MRN espoused, including the conspiracy of a Jewish syndicate that was and still is, in complete control of South Africa. The MRN probably caught wind of this “why don’t you read what they want others to read” tactic, and removed some of their favourite articles.

Jassat will be surprised to know that it's actually very difficult to remove something from the Internet. Before I get to this, one more point. Jassat realises that they once showboated this anti-Semitic article, and he therefore dimly couches his denial in protective language, saying that they never “hosted” the article. In this non-legal context, that’s irrelevant. What matters here, is that the association with the articles implicates the MRN's shared conspiratorial worldview.

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine allows us to view cached pages of websites as they were years ago. I used the Wayback Machine to see if I could find this notorious article, and find it I did.

It’s important to realise that this isn’t just one of thousands of articles that the MRN links to, as Jassat claims. For years it was linked to in their section called ‘publications’ - one of, on average, 12 (not thousands!) links for the years when it was featured. There can be no doubt that they fully endorsed the views in this article and aimed to distribute it as widely as possible, even if they never “hosted” it.

The archive shows that two articles in particular, one on the Jewish Broederbond Syndicate and the other on Holocaust denial were prominently displayed from at least 2001 to 2005. The screenshot below is for the year 2001.

The text at the top reads: The Publications section contains some of the publications written by the Media Review Network. Please check back often as new information is constantly added to the section.

The first highlighted article reads: The "Holocaust" - 120 questions and answers.
The second highlighted article reads: The Jewish Broederbond Syndicate.

Here are the links for your perusal: 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 (Once the pages open, look for "publications" on the left and then you will find the list of articles.)

Later in his response, Jassat says that the issue with the Jewish Broederbond article was originally blamed on some “unnamed South African Islamic website”. He then says that this website bears no resemblance to the MRN.

But in the archive links, on average 8 of the 12 or so links are directly from the website (www.islam.co.za) that actually hosted the articles in question. This makes it very difficult for Jassat to state that there was no connection between the MRN and the website.

The MRN should have the courage of their convictions and repost the links to these foul articles that attack Jews as Jews. I'm sure they will still be able to rely on the likes of Virginia Tilley for defence and legitimisation.

Comments

[Ariel]

That's quite the smackdown Steve.

[Shmuel ben David]

Well done Steve! Where did the despicable Jassat's article appear? If in a publlication, please pass your findings and reply on.

[Mike]

Brilliant work!!!. Wow. thats a shocking gun if ever I have seen one!

[Joel Pollak]

There was also Holocaust denial on the old MRN website, including an op-ed opposing the opening of the Cape Town Holocaust Museum.

[Joel Pollak]

Holocaust denial on the MRN website - click the links:

- NAZI GERMANY WAS FOUND GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES THAT WERE TECHNICALLY IMPOSSIBLE

- The continual reference to the “ holocaust” prompts me to asks a few simple questions

- On the Holocasut Museum

[david Saks]

Excellent detective work! I had a feeling the MRN would fall back on brazen denialism.

[Bev Goldman]

Well done, Steve - you have really exposed them for what they are. Now we wait and see how they extricate themselves from this latest lie - which no doubt they will do using every obfuscation possible.

[Gill]

The galloping men and women of the Mindless Redundandant Network once again do their slight of hand magic act! When will they learn that peace in Israel between her and her neighbours will come when they deal with their paranoia and make some helpful suggestions instead of playing 'j'accuse' and "I deny' games on ad nasueum like skittery schoolgirls. Do they not know about computer technology and the ability to trace archives?
Their rhetoric is becoming beyond boring and banal.

[Steve]

Hi Shmuel,
The Jassat article is already linked to in the post above. Just click on the title of his article.

[The Blacklisted Dictator]

Date: 31 August 2007 1:04:32 AM
To: Jane Duncan , na'eem jeenah

Subject: MEDIA REVIEW NETWORK CARTOON

Dear Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah,

I refer you to the following cartoon which is on the homepage of the Media Review Network website.

http://www.mediareviewnet.com/default.htm

Please would you congratulate The MRN (who have recently written on your behalf) for using, what seems to me, to be an old-fashioned anti-semitic cartoon.

Is it possible that you could also feature this cartoon on The FXI website? It would remind your readers that The Jews are inherently evil and should be exterminated asap.

[The Blacklisted Dictator]

Steve,
Assuming that you are not going to attach the MRN cartoon which appeared in Sep 2007, let me describe it....

The cartoon shows a man with a massive hooked nose. A standard antisemitic sterotype. He is wearing a US stars and stripes hat and dark glasses. In one lens is an oil well, in the other a magen dovid. And he is holding the world, in the form of a globe, on a string.

[Mike]

Anthony,

Have you asked your firend Virginia how she feels about the MRN's not so Kosher comments? More interesting I guess is what does Stephan Friedman have to say? Do you think he supports Holocuast denial these days if it serves the cause of Israel's destruction? I would love to be a fly on the wall in Virginia and Stephan's bed room. Can you imagine the pillow talk. Maybe you could give us a poem on it.

[The Blacklisted Dictator]

ike,
I shall let the idea of a holocaust denial poem ruminate.
I think that Friedman and Tilley would subscribe to any idea under the sun that undermines the state of Israel. If they had to say that the world was flat for Israel to disappear off the map, they would.
One has to understand that from their perspective, Israel is the most evil entity that has ever existed. As a result, Pol Pot, Hitler, Mugabe, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Mussolini and Ahmadinejad are all preferable to Tzipi Livni. Even if their crimes were added together, they would still be preferable to Tzipi Livni. One just has to accept this as a PC leftist anti-racist anti-imperialist etc approach to The Middle East.

[anonymous]

Igbal Jassat se (bak)oore brand nou seker aanhoudend na Steve se oulike forensic audit op die MRN!
Well done Steve for exposing past vicious anti-semitic content on the MRN website. Jassat's pretence to the world that the website does not have an anti-semitic agenda has been unambiguously exposed for all to see. Jassat would want all to believe and buy into the lie that the website's mission is purist anti-Zionist with no overriding anti-semitic tag attached. Purist anti-Zionist? Was Martin Buber ever on the editorial Board of the MRN???

[Ruth]

I am not a fan of Iqbal Jasat, but perhaps mike and steve should be engaging Jassat with the other issues he raises in the article? especially the "anti-zionism = anti-semitism" debate which has emerged in our community recently.

[Steve]

Hi Ruth,
We have in fact extensively discussed that topic on this blog. In front page posts as well as in comments discussions.

I personally don't believe it is worth engaging Jassat on those issues. His website has been delegetimised with unquestionably antisemitic material that is in no way related to Israel. Why then should we engage with him on the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemtisim?