Tuesday August 8 1:58 PM ET
Anti-Semites Use Internet to Attack Lieberman
      by Michael Carney

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Al Gore's selection of  Joseph Lieberman
has prompted a flood of anti-Semitic hate messages on the Internet from people
objecting to the fact that he is an Orthodox Jew.

The Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate speech on the Internet, said anti-Semitic
slurs and offensive language was sprouting on message boards, discussion groups and e-mail lists.

Lieberman's Jewish identity was widely discussed by mainstream media Tuesday with some
analysts saying it would make little or no difference to the vast majority of voters.
But others were not quite so sure.

Some of the electronic screeds described Lieberman,
as a ``manipulating dirty'' ''Jewboy'' with a ``hooked nose.''

Others repeated a well-known anti-Semitic libel that a coterie
of Jews control the U.S. government and news media.

``If Gore makes it, then we have greatly underestimated the power of Zionists
and the controlled media,'' wrote one critic.

``Gore probably just picked Lieberman to make a 'statement' and because he is mad
at the Jewish-controlled American media for creating and maintaining Smirk,''
read a posting representative of many others.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that a chat room about the Lieberman selection
drew 14,000 postings -- half, at times, attacking Lieberman's Judaism.

Web sites maintained by established hate groups were mum about Lieberman, although the
head of America's fastest-growing group was online within hours of the selection.

``Gore's choice of Lieberman will increase national dislike for Jews, ''Matthew Hale,
a self-described racist who heads the World Church of the Creator,
told followers through an Internet mailing list.

``I further hope that Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman are elected as it would increase anti-Semitism
dramatically and further erode the supposed legitimacy of the government,'' Hale wrote.
``The more Jewish the government obviously is, the more the people will wish
to overthrow such an alien government.''

Hale may be a firebrand, but he was much less incendiary than other authors on the Internet,
which is well-known as a haven for extremists who can exchange views in virtual anonymity.

``Now the Jew press will pump up the Gore/Jew ticket like crazy,'' said a posting to a
message board dedicated to tobacco.  'Guys, even though we are in the TV age, and the
hooked nose does not play well on TV, beware of the Jew presses' ability to sway the public.''
 

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