The death of the Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal has been widely greeted with a sense of loss, writes Ben Rooney.
"One of the world's beacons has left us. He poured light into some of the most sickening darkness in our time," writes Necklace of Shoes on the pro-Israeli littlegreenfootballs.com. For a roundup from both sides of the US political spectrum, unpartisan.com lists 17 news stories, 15 liberal blogs and 15 conservative blogs.
littlegreenfootballs.com
www.unpartisan.com
Although perhaps not as respectful of his memory as some, IMAO, a rightwing US blog, sends him off thus: "Goodbye, Simon. May those old men hiding in the wilderness of Paraguay and Argentina break their hips when they dance at the news."
www.imao.us
But his death has brought to the surface the unpleasant truth that anti-semitism is very much alive today, and that the internet gives global voice to those who wish to spread it. The chat boards at Yahoo! were quickly hijacked by those expressing extreme views.
news.messages.yahoo.com
In the Middle East, not surprisingly, the contrast between reports of his death on Israeli sites and on Arab sites could not be more stark. The Jerusalem Post carries pages of tributes, while many leading Arab sites either don't mention his death, or carry only the briefest of reports. The English version of the al-Jazeera site bucks the trend and publishes a long and detailed report.
www.jpost.com
english.aljazeera.net
