New York, NY, September 29, 2005 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urged the government of Namibia to prosecute those responsible for placing an advertisement in a weekly magazine that viciously attacked the memory of famed Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal within days of his death. The ad in the weekly magazine "Namibia Plus" celebrated Mr. Wiesenthal's death and called him a "big monster."

"This incident was a grievous insult to the Jewish community of Namibia, to Jews around the world and to all those who faced Nazi persecution during the Holocaust," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "The government needs to take action, so that there are clear repercussions against those responsible for this vicious attack on a man whose life was dedicated to promoting tolerance and human rights.  There needs to be a message, loud and clear, that Namibia deems any expression of hatred and intolerance as unacceptable to society."

In a letter to Hopelong Uushona Ipinge, the Namibian Ambassador to the United States, ADL called on the government to take action against those responsible for the ad, which appears to be in clear violation of Namibia's anti-discrimination laws.  The ad has drawn strong protests from the German Ambassador in Windhoek and Namibian human rights groups.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.