[JSLTIGER]

You know, the only reason that I even looked at this thread was because I wondered how long it would take for someone to bring up some kind of "Jewish conspiracy" or say something completely inappropriate. Now I have my answer, and I find it sad. 4 posts. That's all it took.

As an American, I can understand finding it odd to be charged and convicted of a crime based merely on an insulting phrase in speech. The 1st Amendment is a fantastic guarantor of freedom when it comes to speech in this country. Many of the European countries (including France) have suspended freedom of speech when it comes to certain topics (such as direct insulting language towards particular subgroups of the demography of their countries) in order to ensure that past transgressions are not repeated.

Germany bans Nazi symbolism and references out of shame for their past actions and fear of a resurgence of views that mainstream enlightened society has condemned as evil. France and other nations across Europe have enacted similar laws (though generally not as stringent) as a result of several factors, including shame at their complicity with the Nazis (via the Vichy regime), along with a desire to end a history of anti-semitic sentiment (evidenced in France most notably through the Dreyfus Affair) in their nations. These laws have nothing to do with a "Jewish tyranny" (which is non-existant, by the way) of any sort, but rather the development of a national and social conscience.