A leading bookstore has been condemned by the Jewish community for describing an antisemitic hoax text as an “interesting book”.
Blackwell’s, the Oxford institution that opened in 1879, advertised on its website The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a racist forgery that purports to describe a plan for Jewish world global domination, Jewish News reported.
A synopsis of the text, originally translated from Russian, on the website read: “If The Protocols are a forgery, they still form an interesting book which deserves to be studied. If, however. The Protocols are genuine (which can never be proven conclusively), it might cause some of us to keep a wary eye on world affairs. We neither support nor deny its message, we simply make it available for those who wish a copy.”
After coming under intense criticism, the synopsis on the website was changed to read: “Not all documents that change the world are good — some are despicable, and leave hatred and bigotry in their wake. Such is the case with the 1900-era antisemitic manifesto.”
Blackwell’s, which has 20 stores across the country, is known as an antiquarian book specialist and has consistently been ranked one of the world’s best bookshops. Its founder, Sir Basil Henry Blackwell, presided over the family firm and was addressed as “Gaffer”. Blackwell’s remained the doyen of provincial bookselling during the late 20th century.
A spokesman for the company told The Daily Telegraph: “The description that appeared for The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was an automatic feed from the publisher, not something written or endorsed by us. With over 18 million books on our website we are unable to physically check each record, but once this was brought to our attention we replaced the description with words that express our complete condemnation of the contents of this book.”
Reacting to the listing of the item, Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “It is astounding that a supposedly reputable retailer would distribute a notorious antisemitic forgery accusing a cabal of Jews of being behind a plot to rule the world, with a blurb on its website that claims the work could be genuine. This disgraceful example of Jew hate must be removed from its online shop and we expect a full apology.”
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is bad enough that Blackwell’s is selling the notorious fraudulent Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Worse, the reputable bookseller has demonstrated grotesque ignorance in providing a synopsis that implies that the forgery may in fact be genuine.
“Blackwell’s must not only remove this antisemitic tract from sale but must apologise for publishing such a dangerous description and explain how on earth it came to appear online.”
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were the supposed minutes of a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. Forged in southern Russia in about 1902, they were published in the West after the First World War.
It is often suggested that the Protocols were a key influence on Nazi antisemitism; the historian Norman Cohn called them a “warrant for genocide”.
The Protocols has since been removed from the Blackwell’s website. The company has been contacted for comment.
