B'nai Brith Notices

B’nai Brith urges Yahoo GeoCities to remove convicted hatemonger’s racist website

MONTREAL, February 2, 2007 – B'nai Brith Canada-Quebec Region has contacted Yahoo Geocities to request the immediate removal of a website, originally created by convicted hatemonger Jean-Sébastien Presseault, which advocates the murder and genocide of Blacks and Jews. Presseault was sentenced two weeks ago to a 6-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to the wilful promotion of public hatred through the website.

"We have urged Yahoo GeoCities to exercise good corporate citizenship by immediately taking down the hate-filled website, which is the brainchild of convicted hatemonger Jean-Sébastien Presseault," said Allan Adel, National Chair of the League for Human Rights. "This case illustrates the relative ease with which hatemongers can disseminate their messages online and how sites that are taken down can all too readily pop up elsewhere on the net. We call on Yahoo GeoCities and the entire Internet service provider community to take up this challenge in concerted and coordinated effort with law enforcement, government agencies, academics, educators and community groups."

This incident falls on the heels of a recent conference held in Montreal entitled 'Hate on the Internet: Is Your Child a Target?' which focused on this very issue. The Jewish human rights group maintains and operates a website, www.hateontheinternet.com, where individuals can report incidents of online hate, as well as a 24/7 community Anti-Hate Hotline 1-800-892-2624, allowing victims of hate crimes access to support from experts in the field.