Dr Barbara Molas talks to CAA about acting as the expert witness in notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz’s failed appeal
Dr Bàrbara Molas, an expert on far-right ideology, online radicalisation, and prevention who works as a Research Fellow at the Current and Emerging Threats Programme at The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke about her experience acting as an expert witness at the failed appeal of the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz, where she analysed the lyrics of one of Ms Chabloz’s songs for the court.
The two-day appeal hearing at Southwark Crown Court in February followed last year’s two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court which concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pickpockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.
The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.
During her appeal, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel, as she had suggested throughout her trial, to no avail.
Dr Molas told Campaign Against Antisemitism that her task in analysing the lyrics was essentially a “decoding exercising”, owing to the fact that Ms Chabloz “tried to manipulate the lyrics in ways that, for those in circles that endorse antisemitic ideas and far-right ideologies, would have been very easy to identify and very easy to relate to.”
The far-right expert said that she explained to the court that “it’s not just using coded language for humorous discourse or conversations, but actually using coded language to reinforce prejudices against the community that was targeted at that time, helping normalise those prejudices.”
Dr Molas said that the trial and appeal “allowed [her] to understand the extent of how coded language could be used to further the normalisation of antisemitism.”
While Dr Molas said that she found the task to be of interest, she also admitted that she had concerns for her personal safety, and revealed that she was provided support beforehand.
Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.
Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession: that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.
This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.
