Lizards and The Jews"), Icke's frequent statements that he is speaking literally and not metaphorically, and that Icke identifies the supposedly reptilian ruling elite as "Aryan" in several places. Robertson also writes that Icke denounces racism, having called it "the ultimate idiocy". In 2018, in response to allegations of antisemitism, Icke stated to Vox that: "My philosophy and view of life is that we are all points of attention within the same state of Infinite Awareness and the labels we are given and give ourselves are merely temporary experiences and not who we are… Thus to me all racism is ridiculous and completely missing the point of who we are and where we are." Following complaints from the Canadian Jewish Congress in 2000, Icke was briefly detained by immigration officials in Canada, where he was booked for a speaking tour, and his books were removed from Indigo Books, a Canadian chain. Several stops on the tour were cancelled by their venues, as was a lecture in London. Two venues in Berlin cancelled live events scheduled to be hosted by Icke in 2017 following accusations of antisemitism. The Maritim hotel did not give a reason for the cancellation, but the Carl Benz Arena wrote on its Facebook page that it was due to the "contentious nature and the contradictory statements, which for us as a politically neutral event venue do not give a clear picture." An event to be held at Manchester United's Old Trafford was also cancelled in 2017, with the venue saying it was due to Icke's "objectionable views." After Icke's talk in Vancouver on 2 September 2017, the Canadian Jewish News called him "a controversial conspiracy theorist, antisemite and Holocaust denier". Micheal Vonn, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association's policy director, told the newspaper: "You are free to be a racist in Canada, you are free to say so and tell others that they should be, too." In February 2019, the Australian Government cancelled Icke's visa ahead of a planned speaking tour on the grounds of his character. Immigration Minister David Coleman upheld the complaint made by Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission. This decision was applauded by both major political parties. Labor's immigration spokesman, Shayne Neumann, said, "Labor welcomes the fact that the Government did what we called on them to do and refused David Icke's visa application." Icke issued a statement in which he