A step too far?
Eastern approaches 2014-05-14
Summary:
THE recent decision by Czech state television to ban the campaign advertisement of a Eurosceptic party for the European Parliamentary elections highlights a question relevant across the continent: at what point does anti-Brussels rhetoric cross a line?
In the offending ad, a digitally animated snake slithers in front of a variety of images, including a Star of David, smiling rabbis, a vaccination, a €500 note and smoke pouring from New York’s Twin Towers. The serpent is eventually slain by a knight holding a shield that bears a fork-tailed lion crest, the Czech national symbol. Czech Television refused to air the advertisement. Adam Bartoš, the leader and top European Parliament candidate for the “No to Brussels-National Democracy” party, admits the ad is “provocative.” He insists it is anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic, though this fails to explain why Mr Bartoš has also taken to publishing lists on the internet of Czech elites he claims are Jewish. The snake in the ad,...Continue reading