Jain Spirit 2004 10 No 20

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 14

12 GLOBAL NEWS
'Holocaust on Your Plate' Exhibita
victimisation of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and others who were characterised as "life unworthy of life" during the Holocaust parallels the way in which modern society abuses and justifies the slaughter of animals." There is a connection between the dehumanising of Jews and others by the Nazis and the factory farmers' denial to other species of "all that is enjoyable and natural to them" and "killing them in assembly-line fashion."
But such comparisons do not please everybody. Farmers' organisations have strongly objected to comparisons with the Nazis, and some representatives accused PETA of trivialising the Holocaust. Neville Nagler, Director General of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, described PETA's campaign as 'an abuse of imagery' that "causes enormous offence to victims of the Holocaust and their families." The Board supported the GLA's ban and expressed regret that the display had been allowed to go ahead in other cities.
Defending the images, PETA points to the support and active involvement of Jewish organisations and individuals in the campaign. According to Matt Prescott: "People are in denial of the torture that is taking place in their own backyards, and that is the very same mindset that made the Holocaust possible - the belief that we can do anything we want to those we decide are different or 'inferior'. We are asking people to bring a deep, all-encompassing compassion into their hearts and onto their tables by embracing a diet that respects other forms of life," says Matt Prescott.
5669
"Our grandchildren will ask us one day: Where were you during the holocaust of the animals? What did you do against these horrifying crimes? We won't be able to offer the same excuse for the second time, that we didn't know."
-Dr Helmut Kaplan, Author and Philosopher
The least we can do to help end this holocaust is adopt a vegetarian diet. Visit GoVeg.co.uk or call 0800 328 9621 for a free vegetarian starter kit. PETA MassKilling.co.uk
One of PETA's controversial posters
A controversial exhibition was staged by PETA Europe in London's Trafalgar Square in May 2004, in defiance of bans imposed by Westminster City Council and the Greater London Authority (GLA). Provocatively entitled 'Holocaust on Your Plate', the display was a graphic depiction of the inhumane conditions in today's factory farms. Organisers cited the famous remark by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Yiddish writer, Nobel Laureate and refugee from Hitler: "In relation to animals, all people are Nazis."
The display, coordinated by PETA US Campaign Coordinator Matt Prescott, members of whose family were murdered by the Nazis, consists of eight large panels, each showing photos of factory-farm and slaughterhouse scenes side by side with photos from Nazi death camps. PETA's declared motive is to ask people "to consider how the
Spreading Peace Through Prayer Samayika at Jain Centre, Leicester, UK
Report by Dr Ramesh Mehta
In the early hours of 16 May 2004, the devotees of the Jain Centre in Leicester were busily applying the final touches to their preparations for the forthcoming event. The day was auspicious and the celebrations were in honour of the birth, renunciation and liberation event (Moksha Kalyanak) of the
For more information about PETA's 'Holocaust on Your Plate' Campaign and to view the display, please visit www.masskilling.co.uk
16th Tirthankara, Shree Shantinath Bhagwan.
This year is also the sixteenth year of the Pratishtha of the images in the Jain Centre, Leicester. Pratishtha is a term for the installation of an idol in a Jain temple. To commemorate this anniversary, 1600 Samayikas were arranged. A Samayika is a special 48
minute meditation. At dawn, the Jain Centre resonated with the sound of the Navkar Mantra and the chanting of various other mantras. The bells were ringing in the background and the devotees were engrossed in performing the Asta Prakari Pooja, the ceremony of anointing the idol. By 10:00 am coaches started to arrive from various