The Equality Commission reprimanded family therapist Charlie Azzopardi for using anti-Semitic language in a Facebook post in October 2015.

In its decision, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality said “persons holding positions in the public sector, which aims to serve all persons irrespective of race and ethnic origin, should refrain from making statements which may contradict the very essence of public service”.

Dr Azzopardi, who was a Labour Party candidate in the last general election, uploaded the comments on his public Facebook profile alongside a video of protesting Palestinians being shot at by Israeli undercover agents.

The offensive statement read: “This is the cruelty caused by people who are supposed to know what genocide is. The Jews are the real terrorists. Wherever they go, there is bloodshed and war.”

Dr Azzopardi’s post sparked a complaint to the commission from anthropologist Mark-Anthony Falzon, a columnist with The Sunday Times of Malta. Prof. Falzon is also a board member of the NCPE. But Dr Azzopardi was unrepentant when contacted yesterday, insisting his words were made to seem anti-Semitic because Prof. Falzon reproduced them on his own Facebook wall without reference to the video.

“The Equality Commissioner is right to condemn those words, because they are anti-Semitic if placed out of context,” Dr Azzopardi insisted.

My sons have Jewish names

Delivering an opinion on the case, Equality Commissioner Renee Laiviera acknowledged that the statements had to be taken in context, but nevertheless, she deplored the comments.

“The Commissioner deplores the use of anti-Semitic or otherwise discriminatory wording in connection with persons or groups of persons pertaining to a particular race or ethnic origin,” she said.

In its investigation, the commission heard Prof. Falzon’s objection to the last two sentences of Dr Azzopardi’s post, which he said referred to Jews in generic terms rather than the State of Israel.

Prof. Falzon also indicated other posts uploaded by Dr Azzopardi, deemed to contain anti-Semitic views that contradicted his role as a public official within the Social Solidarity Ministry.

Interviewed by the commission, Dr Azzopardi said he abhorred violence irrespective of who perpetrated it. While recognising that his comments “may have seemed offensive to some”, Dr Azzopardi insisted they referred to the video.

Dr Azzopardi declared he had nothing against the Jewish people, so much so that his two sons had Jewish names and his surname had Jewish roots.

When the case erupted, Social Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia said the comments did not reflect his personal views but insisted he should not get involved in someone else’s opinion.

Dr Azzopardi yesterday confirmed he was still a consultant at the ministry and accused Prof. Falzon of “half-truths” when he failed to reference the video.

“[Prof. Falzon] is a clown and should have approached me personally. I am anti-violence. But Prof. Falzon may have had other reasons for hitting out at me, since I am informed that he had objected internally with the NCPE when my company was awarded an €8,000 tender for training by the commission,” Dr Azzopardi said.

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