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Friday, November 15, 2013

Statement of Amazing Discoveries Germany regarding the accusations of anti-semitism in Germany



In October 2012, Prof. Walter Veith presented a series entitled “Sturm aus dem Norden” [English series: “Repairing the Breach”] in the Seventh-day Adventist Church Marienberg in Nürnberg. Amazing Discoveries Germany (AD) streamed the event live on its internet channel AD TV so that as many Adventists, guests and friends as possible would be able to participate in the presentations. Our office received a lot of positive feedback.

Only a few days after, an aggressive publication appeared by the private news agency European Adventist News Network [EANN]. Under the heading “Veiths gefährliches Spiel mit der Judenfrage” [Veith’s Dangerous Game with the Jewish Question – a disturbing fact-check] author Dietmar Päschel, a journalist for the EANN, suggested by means of a so-called “reality check” that a major part of the presentation was actually made up out of thin air. Päschel claimed Veith’s message based on the Khazar theory, which has only recently been further backed up by new genetic research [here in English: Science Daily and AFP], to be “scientifically disproven”. Above all, he accused the evangelist of “anti-Semitic views” and even “downplaying the [Jewish] Holocaust”.
Some facts will help put the matter into perspective. Already in November 2011 EANN had published „Die Weltverschwörung. Ein Einblick in die dunkle Ideenwelt des Walter Veith“ [English article: The Dark Fantasy World of Walter Veith], an extremely polemic, faulty and simply insulting article that styled Veith as a “religious businessman” being caught in an irrational fantasy world and assailing his audience with a crude sequence of suggestive slides. EANN then further discussed the very diverging responses of its readers under the heading “Walter Veith polarisiert EANN-Leser” [Walter Veith polarizing EANN readers], as if Veith and not their own article were the cause of the polarization. In June 2012, Päschel in a 20-page paper “Veiths Lehre bei NS-Anhängern” [Veith’s teachings among Nazi adherents] endeavored to prove that Veith was no “authentic preacher of Adventist beliefs”. Though his artificial arguments are far from valid, they reveal all the more the author’s negative attitude towards the speaker and a subtle attempt to tie Veith’s message to right-wing extremism.

Against this backdrop, Päschel’s latest attack appears as part of a planned crusade. Shortly afterwards, Amazing Discoveries Germany received word that a press organ had triggered off a preliminary investigation of the presentations at the Prosecuting Attorney’s office in Nürnberg for the potential offense of sedition and Holocaust denial. EANN editor Martin Haase commented to Norbert Zens, Treasurer of the Intereuropean Division EUD, that EANN neither filed a charge at the prosecution office nor asked the police for inspection. The Attorney’s office in Nürnberg however, after having closed the proceedings, confirmed to us that the critical impetus had indeed originated with an EANN journalist. In an email dated from November 11, 2012 to the Prosecuting Attorney in Nürnberg, the journalist intimates on grounds of EANN reader comments and the public dissociation by SDA Church leadership that Veith’s presentation had called forth great agitation and was obviously “criminally relevant”. He then asks four suggestive questions conveying the impression this was a quite serious instance that certainly would bring about a complaint and criminal investigation. His letter does not contain a direct request to launch a preliminary investigation; instead it casts the speaker and its presentation in a light so negative that the Office’s reaction was predictable.

We are sad and concerned that contrary to Bible principles, legal proceedings have been induced against a fellow believer and that this course of action has not even been acknowledged when it was addressed.

Moreover, even one day before his article “Veiths gefährliches Spiel mit der Judenfrage”, EANN journalist Dietmar Päschel had, in an urgent appeal written to the two German union conferences, demanded consequences against Veith. Under the pressure of EANN and some Adventist lawyers, the church leaders hastily drew up a public statement condemning in strong terms Veith’s alleged anti-Semitic utterances. Here is an excerpt: (translated from the German):

We dissociate from such statements and conspiracy. . . Here is a speculative worldview, there is no basis in the Bible and it distracts from the real purpose of the gospel. Moreover, that the manner of the presentation is not an ethically justifiable way of dealing with other religions. The Adventist departments and communities are encouraged to ensure that such events take place neither in our name nor in our premises.

It is quite surprising that the concerned leaders of the German-speaking territory (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) issued a declaration on a presentation that at this time had been live-aired once only without any public recordings being available. This begs the question to what extent an objective assessment of the contents was then at all possible.

Early in January 2013, the united board of the two German unions (FiD, „Freikirche in Deutschland“) renewed an earlier speaking ban without previously talking to Walter Veith or Amazing Discoveries Germany, despite the fact that Bro. Veith was (and remains) a properly ordained evangelist of the SDA Church and is therefore according to current policy legitimized as a speaker world-wide.

While the German administration repeatedly presented their point of view in the Church magazine Adventisten heute [Adventists Today] (last time in March 2013), the publication of a reply of Walter Veith and Amazing Discoveries Germany was being strictly denied. Except for a letter to the editor by AD Germany that was put on the website (!) of the Adventverlag [German SDA publishing house], not a single letter of readers was published even though whole churches sent letters of protest to the administration (SDA Church Müllheim, members of the SDA Churches Würzburg, Schweinfurt, Bad Kissingen, SDA Church Bendorf I). [In addition, many people world-wide sent letters addressed directly to Bruno Vertallier, division president of the Euro-African Division, outlining their disappointment in the way the church dealt with this issue and requesting them to rescind their ban on Walter Veith. ]

In May 2013, a motion to annul the speaking ban was supported by a great majority of the general assembly of the SDA Church Nürnberg-Marienberg and sent to the FiD. Furthermore, the obvious grievance of the German administration deviating from the universally applicable SDA Working Policy when it comes to the invitation of external speakers was being addressed. Both motions were not allowed to be heard but returned with a note that no local church but FiD members only were entitled to bring up a motion.

In contrast to the procedure of our church administration, the approach of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is remarkable: After receiving EANN’s inquiry concerning sedition and minimization of the Holocaust, the Head Elder of the organizing church Nürnberg-Marienberg was interrogated as a witness. Then they asked for legal copies of the presentations and took time to thoroughly look into them.

After six months, the Attorney’s Office has now communicated that the speaker “neither committed the criminal offence of sedition according to §130 par. 1,2 StGB, nor of Holocaust denial according to §130 par. 3 StGB. In particular the persecution of the Jews during the Third Reich is not being negated, instead only unusual views about it are being advocated … Overall, after reviewing the contents of the presentation no criminal investigation proceedings will be initiated.”

Although EANN reported in an article about the Prosecuting Attorney’s final assessment, Päschel in no wise revoked his misjudgment that Veith had downplayed the Holocaust and thereby committed a form of Holocaust denial. He even affirmed the old charge of anti-Semitism which, in light of the Attorney’s conclusion, must be counted as deliberate defamation.

Connected to this public piece of information by Amazing Discovery Germany is the request to the EUD and the German Unions to correct their condemning attitude towards Walter Veith; also to generally examine the procedure concerning the invitation of guest speakers and conform it to the worldwide conventions of the SDA Working Policy.

In consideration of the above occurrences, we appeal to our Unions and Conferences to review their relations to EANN and their members including a critical evaluation of their public name since the abbreviation EANN is borrowed from ANN (Adventist News Network) and conveys the misleading impression of an official SDA press organ (European Adventist News Network, as the EANN vice chief editor confirmed [his statement has disappeared from his website meanwhile]). A misguidance of the reading public is to be prevented by all means. The same applies to the website “Adventist Leadership” that is adorning itself with the name “Adventist” but really is privately issued by Martin Haase. We are observing an increasing confusion through private organizations looking official to all appearances and entertaining noticeably good ties to leading SDA circles. We reject any attempt of covertly influencing our churches or the public and call upon each leader to express their views openly and by means of the official channels.

We want to emphasize that it is the intention of this document to clarify the issue and that it has been written out of concern for our Church that we love. Our brothers and sisters must not, through biased information, be led to wrong conclusions. They should be able to form their own opinions and to express their sentiments on current events. A partial gag order as in the case of Walter Veith is a virtual denial of their right to think for themselves. When confidence has thus been damaged it cannot be redeemed by just more emphatically insistence of administrative authority. We need to return to our Biblical concept of spiritual authority, and to deal with one another as humble-minded according to the word of Jesus: “You are all brothers.” (Matthew 23:8)

Nürnberg (Germany), August 15, 2013
amazing discoveries e. V.


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