Law firm drops Hitler t-shirt client
Arnold Bloch Leibler, the well-known Australian legal firm, has ceased to act for Melbourne-based Red Bubble, an online arts community, after it was revealed that the company is selling T-shirts glorifying Hitler.
ABL’s senior partner, Mark Leibler, who is also national chairman of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, issued this statement last week, which J-Wire publishes in full:
To whom it may concern
We refer to your posting … and request that you remove this posting from your web site immediately, as the posting implies that Arnold Bloch Leibler condones the distribution of pro-Hitler merchandise. While nothing could be further from the truth, a number of comments on this posting suggest that this is how this has been interpreted.
Arnold Bloch Leibler has had a long and unswerving commitment to fighting discrimination and protecting human rights, and any implication that the firm is supportive of attempts to “reinvigorate Nazi ideas’ is false and unacceptable to the firm. Furthermore, the firm has deep roots in the Jewish community and is extremely sensitive to the consequences of the Holocaust.
Arnold Bloch Leibler does not currently act for RedBubble and will not act on behalf of RedBubble in the future; however the firm has previously provided corporate advice to RedBubble. Until receiving yesterday the letter quoted in your post, the firm was not aware that Hipster Hitler t-shirt designs were among the millions of designs available through the RedBubble web site.
We appreciate your speedy attention to our request to remove this posting.
Yours faithfully
Mark Leibler AC
Senior Partner
Leibler’s letter and the t-shirt story appeared on www.firmspy.com
Should we start making t-shirts of Uncle Tom Jews?(insert smirk here)
Where there is real wit, there is a way.
In this case, the joke is on those who have a lower order sense of humour,and there is a very large market for it amongst the masses.
I don;t think Mel Brooks would like the idea that HH uses him as a ‘reference’ for their ‘art’
please read this and you can see where Mel clearly draws the line:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,406268,00.html
I hope Martin Hosking and everyone realizes that racist groups, such as Stormfront, are supportive of Hipster Hitler.
In fact, their comments are very telling and should be taken into consideration, as to who these materials are appealing to.
Hipster Hitler creators have targeted the young (several high school students comprise their fan base) who may be uneducated regarding history and the holocaust. While other fans appear to be either white supremacists or anti-semitic.
http://www.stormfront.org/forum/search.php?searchid=10888218
The links provided by Martin Hosking read like they were written by high school teen agers that are ignorant of the past and ignorant of the serious issues surrounding these materials.
In response to Martin’s claim, and I quote:
‘The particular range in question, “Hipster Hitler” makes a mockery of Hitler and has been well received in a range of Jewish publications for this reason:’
I have read the links listed am of the opinion that a minority of Jewish publications have received the ‘apparent’ mockery well – You are in damage control and in this way are admitting a level of fault with allowing this content to firstly be made available on a website and secondly to remain. Your additional claim that the site has in place ‘policies on racism and vilification’ has been breached on so many levels that the actual policy has no grounds on which it has been established.
On a personal note my grandfather was the soul survivor of his family due to Hitler’s regime and I do not apologize for my disgust of this allowable and repugnant content.
I doubt the honesty of Martin Hosking’s explanation. The protests against these t-shirts have been going on for months. He has censored all dissent on RedBubble to keep selling the t-shirts which are regularly “featured” on RedBubble as top-selling items. He obviously was not in “active discussions” with his own lawyers because they ceased to act when they found out about the t-shirts. I suspect the “active discussions” he refers to have only arisen recently because the complaints have got out of hand and gone beyond RedBubble and he’s been asked to explain himself.
Antoinette wrote, “There is a thin line between freedom of speech and lack of respect. ”
What a disturbing comment. Freedom of speech is worth nothing if we don’t allow people to say offensive things.
You clearly DON’T value freedom of speech, so please don’t pretend you do.
I’d like to hear Redbubble’s owner explain this t-shirt he is selling under his Hitler-chic brand
“Fear and Loathing in Łaskarzew”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laskarzew
Hosking would say that wouldn’t he,when after all this was unearthed and ABL was informed of what was happening dropped Hosking like a Red Hot Potato! (Great move ABL).
For 7 months members have reported these offending T’s and all he can do is (Delete Delete Delete)all the statements that are against what he wants.He’s not above the Law and I will enjoy watching His Ivory Tower slowly crumble beneath him and his minions.
We have fought hard to get these so called Parody Artworks removed,but the only thing he removes is the members who are actively deleted without notice for stating True Facts about the pro Hitler merchandise
People are leaving in their droves because HH are raking the $$$$ in for him,and lets face it..money is the root of all evil..if you want to see Evil…Hosking is the Devil Incarnate!
I cannot believe that redbubble and Martin Hosking would allow such offensive work. There is a thin line between freedom of speech and lack of respect. HH’s work definitely shows lack of respect to the people who died during the holocaust, their families that were left behind, and humanity in general. It is disgusting that they allow things like this on redbubble. I am beyond appalled.
That is not a comprehensive list of Jewish publications by any means. It is from a couple of blogs. Most Jewish people are outraged by this propaganda and see it as being very dangerous. If you want to see how the majority of people feel about this situation then go here:
http://firmspy.com/law-disorder/5613/exclusive-oh-heil-arnold-bloch-leibler-represents-company-spruiking-neo-nazi-propaganda
RedBubble is also publishing baby shirts endorsing rape and pedophilia in addition to all the anti-semitic clothing. Check it out yourself.
It’s interesting that Martin Hosking says he’s in “active discussion” with a number of the Jewish organizations but he refuses to engage in “active discussion” with the very members whos art makes him his great fortune. That is, unless those members blindly agree to everything Martin Hosking decides. The comments of any dissenters get deleted. There are very few supporters. But the “hitler” t-shirts are not the only issue – Redbubble’s policies to accept anything considered (rape, peophilia, abuse, sodomy, violence, racist) objectionable by most, and his very biased application of his own guidelines toward that material is what most people object to. There is NO ADULT CONTENT filter on that website and there should be.
Arnold Bloch Leibler dropped the client because it was distributing “pro-Hitler merchandise”. Hosking splits hairs by saying he was not dropped for “glorifying” Hitler. How pro-Hitler do the tees have to be in his mind? Any amount of pro-Hitler is too much.
@Martin Hosking, it would be nice if you could be a little more honest regarding Redbubble and Hitler Hipster. There are many, many people who are offended by the HH material – people from across the globe, various societies and religions. You have shown disdain for anyone who has raised objections to these materials and have censored and deleted countless comments and accounts. Furthermore, many long standing members have left Redbubble in protest to these and other highly offensive materials. The very people who helped you to get Redbubble to where it is today, are leaving. As much as you like to think you exist in isolation from them, you don’t.
The Hitler Hipster materials do not only ‘parody’ Hitler but make light and fun of the holocaust. People who have opposed these materials, have been trying to point this fact out to you.
You state ‘I do understand that this issue is one of deep sensitivity and what to some people may be mockery may be misunderstood. It is for this reason that I am in active discussion with a number of the Jewish organisations on this issue’, yet you fail to address the unhappiness of the Redbubble community, the divisions this material has caused and your censoring of dissenting voices.
http://firmspy.com/law-disorder/5613/exclusive-oh-heil-arnold-bloch-leibler-represents-company-spruiking-neo-nazi-propaganda
Unimpressed by the t-shirts on Redbubble which are clearly pandering to neo-Nazis. Even more unimpressed by lousy explanation offered by the person selling them.
I like to point out that RedBubble is the only Print-On-Demand business that is willing to print out the Hitler_Hipster T-shirts. Companies like Zazzle have rejected their merchandise.
There’s an interesting discussion in thie ” interview” with the artists behind Hipster Hitler, you can read it here;
http://www.redbubble.com/people/hipsterhitler/journal/7191422-hipster-hitler-an-interview
I also like to point out that the HH T-shirts are promoted on STORMFRONT amogst other NS websites and they are also spotted in Jihad galleries.
In this link you can see how the term ‘juice” is being used;
http://www.myconfinedspace.com/2009/01/15/death-to-all-juice-aka-jews/
I am surprised that a person with the intelligence of Mr. Hosking fails ( or refuses?) to see this is a typical case of dogwhistling…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog-whistle_politics
Looking at RedBubble’s t-shirts I can see why Mark Leibler called them “pro-Hitler merchandise”. Redbubble sells “BACK TO THE FUHRER” t-shirts (I am not joking!). Martin Hosking is delusional if he thinks his objectionable tees mock Hitler, they affirm Hitler and mock his victims. The links above do not say anything about the t-shirts Redbubble is selling – rubbish to say they do. Why anyone would want to run a business profiting from making fun of Holocaust victims is beyond belief. Martin Hosking may say he has great respect for Jwire but I dont have much respect for him profiting from selling these t-shirts. He should stop immediately, come clean on what he has sold and give the money made to a suitable charity.
Thank you for highlighting this issue. I note that Martin Hosking, CEO and majority owner of RedBubble.com has been very quick to add some disinformation to your post. Arnold Bloch Liebler DID. in fact, drop RedBubble as a client specifically because RedBubble hosts Hipster Hitler merchandise.
That is made clear in the original news of this incident which can be viewed “here”:http://firmspy.com/law-disorder/5613/exclusive-oh-heil-arnold-bloch-leibler-represents-company-spruiking-neo-nazi-propaganda#comment-2810
It is purely Mr. Hosking’s personal opinion that this merchandise of stand-alone slogans which RedBubble prints on clothing “makes a mockery” of Hitler. How the “comic strip” has been received elsewhere is totally irrelevant as RedBubble does NOT host or sell a comic strip. RedBubble hosts and sells merchandise with “stand-alone slogans such as “Back To The Fuhrer”.
Mr. Mark Liebler AC’s letter on the FirmSpy post clearly states that he believes the Hipster Hitler range of merchandise on RedBubble to be “pro-Hitler”.
I’m sure your readers will make up their own minds as to whose “opinion” they value more highly.
With respect, Mr Hosking, I think the only person who can speak for ABL, and “their” reason for dropping Redbubble as a client, is ABL. Clearly they do not agree with your opinion of the Hipster Hitler clothing range on your website, just as hundreds of your members do not agree with you.
I am glad to see that you are finally seeking some outside evidence and advise about your opinion/decision on this clothing line, as there is now a possibility that you may see the hurt and destruction if has/is causing. That will wholly depend on who you are choosing to talk to however, and whether you take notice of any opposing views you come across while you investigate. Until now, all you have done with dissent over this clothing range is try to silence it with a heavy and militant hand on your wesbite and areas of the internet where you hold control.
I have a great deal of respect for J-wire. My one point of clarification to this report is that ABL did not drop RedBubble as a client because of “T-shirts glorifying Hitler”. RedBubble does not and would not publish such material as being contrary to our policies on racism and vilification. The particular range in question, “Hipster Hitler” makes a mockery of Hitler and has been well received in a range of Jewish publications for this reason:
• http://heebmagazine.com/?s=hipster+hitler
• http://hipsterjew.com/2011/01/05/hipster-hitler/
• http://www.jew-ish.com/index.php?/blogs/blog1_item/3704
I do understand that this issue is one of deep sensitivity and what to some people may be mockery may be misunderstood. It is for this reason that I am in active discussion with a number of the Jewish organisations on this issue.