Sabina Citron

"The Indictment" redirects here. For the film, see The Indictment (film).
Sabina Citron
Born(1928-08-04)August 4, 1928
Łódź, Poland
DiedSeptember 27, 2023(2023-09-27) (aged 95)
Jerusalem, Israel
Known forHolocaust survivor; founder and spokesperson of the Canadian Holocaust Remembrance Association; author

Sabina Citron (August 4, 1928 – September 27, 2023) was a Polish-Canadian Holocaust survivor. She was a founder and spokesperson of the Canadian Holocaust Remembrance Association, charged a Nazi propagandist under the Canadian Criminal Code with spreading false news in relation to the Holocaust, and prevailed in a civil lawsuit for libel against Hungarian war criminal Imre Finta. She authored The Indictment.

Early life

Sabina Citron was born in Łódź, Poland on August 4, 1928.[1] She performed forced labour in an ammunition factory during World War II.[1]

Later during the Holocaust, she was incarcerated in Auschwitz concentration camp, where her oldest brother died.[1][2] Although the rest of Citron's close relatives managed to survive, almost all of her extended family were killed.[1] She moved to Israel in 1948, later immigrated to Toronto, Canada. She later returned to Israel,[1] living in Jerusalem until her death in 2023.

Later life

Citron became a founder and spokesperson of the Canadian Holocaust Remembrance Association.[3][4][5][6][7]

In 1983 Citron began a private prosecution under the Canadian Criminal Code against Nazi propagandist Ernst Zündel, a Holocaust denier and pamphleteer, charging him with spreading false news.[8]

The charges were based on two pamphlets he had published. Citron alleged that the publications were "likely to cause mischief to the public interest in social and racial tolerance".[9][1][10][11][12] The case was taken over by the Crown Attorney's office, and Zündel was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in jail.[13]

However, on appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal, the conviction was set aside and a re-trial ordered, due to procedural errors made by the trial judge.[9] Zündel was again convicted at the re-trial and appealed, first to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which dismissed the appeal, and then to the Supreme Court of Canada, which allowed the appeal, overturning the decisions of the courts below.[14] In its decision, the Supreme Court held that the charge of spreading false news was unconstitutional, because it infringed the guarantee of freedom of expression in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Citron also prevailed in a civil lawsuit for libel against Imre Finta, after he accused her of being a liar for saying that he had committed war crimes.[1][15][16]

Citron was the author of The Indictment: The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Historical Perspective (Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 2006).[17][18]

Death

Sabina Citron died at her apartment in Jerusalem on September 27, 2023, at the age of 95.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Sabina Citron". Gefen Publishing House. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  2. ^ Les Whittington (March 1, 1985). "Zundel Remains Defiant". The Windsor Star. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  3. ^ Donna Hooper (October 18, 1997). "Zundel controls Web site, estranged wife testifies". The Record. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Michael Babad (April 30, 1985). "Canada to Deport Holocaust Hoax Publisher". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  5. ^ "Indict War Criminals: Petition". The Calgary Herald. July 24, 1981. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  6. ^ Les Whittington (March 22, 1983). "Jewish Activists Dissatisfied with Govt. Probe of War Criminals". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  7. ^ "Nazi Hunter Offers Names". The Windsor Star. April 26, 1985. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  8. ^ Criminal Code, RSC 1970, c. C-34, s. 171 (carried forward as s. 181 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46; repealed, SC 2019, c. 25, s. 62).
  9. ^ a b R v Zundel, 1987 CanLII 121 (ON CA).
  10. ^ Sabina Citron and Toronto Mayor's committee on community and race relations: (Complainants/les plaignantes) and/et Canadian Human Rights Commission and Ernst Zündel. Canadian Human Rights Tribunal/Tribunal des droits de la personne. 1998. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  11. ^ Raphael Cohen-Almagor (2006). The scope of tolerance: studies on the costs of free expression and freedom of the press. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415357586. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  12. ^ Alan T. Davies (1992). Antisemitism in Canada: history and interpretation. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. ISBN 9780889202160. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  13. ^ Les Whittington (March 25, 1985). "Zundel Sentenced to 15 Months". The Calgary Herald. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  14. ^ R v Zundel, [1992] 2 SCR 731.
  15. ^ David Matas (1994). "The Case of Imre Finta, The Viscount Bennett Memorial Lecture". 43 University of New Brunswick Law Journal 281. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  16. ^ "Prosecution of War Criminals Moving at 'Snails Pace'". The Jewish Post & News. March 25, 1993. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  17. ^ Sabina Citron (2006). The Indictment. Gefen Publishing House Ltd. ISBN 965-229-373-3. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  18. ^ "American Jewish Year Book 2007; The Americas; Canada" (PDF). American Jewish Committee. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  19. ^ "Sabina Citron Z"L Survivor, Activist, Author, Mother, and Friend". The Times of Israel. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.