Paris, 3 March 2011
In a letter to Frankfurt Book Fair Director, Juergen Boos, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, exposed publishers promoting incitement at the SIEL 2011 (Salon International du Livre et de l'Edition) in Casablanca, Morocco.
The letter noted that the SIEL is billed as the most important book fair in the Middle East and North Africa, carrying major influence on readers and public opinion", adding that "our Centre annually monitors the Frankfurt Book Fair stands for incitement to hatred and violence. We now have an early opportunity to preempt several such hatemongers from polluting the 2011 Book Fair."
Samuels identified the following publishers and the titles they promote:
DAR AL AWAIL, Syria (recidivist exhibitor at Frankfurt)
- On left : The Great Conspiracy / Hasan Latash
- On left : The Enemies of the West / Muhammad Nimr Al Madani
DAR AL KITAB AL ARABI, Egypt (recidivist exhibitor at Frankfurt):
-On right : The Rothschild Family
-On left :The Beginning and the End of the Israeli Nation / Ahmad Ahmad Ali Al Saqa
- The Secret ties between Zionism and the Nazis / Abdul Karrem A Faluji
SOCIETE AL MAATBOUAT, Lebanon:
Upper shelf left to right :
- The Other Face of Israel
- The Zionist Religious Character and Jewish History
- The Zionist Octopus and the US Administration / Dr. Ali Wahab
- The Israeli Lobby and US Foreign Policy
- Middle Eastern Zionism / In'am Ra'ad
Lower shelf :
- The Military History of the Israelites according to Their Book
- Revealed Secrets
NAYAA AL DIRASSATE, Syria:
- Jewish Soldiers of Violence / Sahir Rafi
The letter stressed "how disconcerting it is, that, at this very moment of the vaunted pro-democracy Arab awakening, we find the regurgitation of the all-purpose conspiracy theory and default excuse for the region's woes - the myth of the omnipotent Jew!"
Samuels argued that "these publishers threaten the courageous protest elements by, once again, covering up the root causes of their revolt in resorting to an anachronistic prejudice"
The Centre expressed astonishment that "the Casablanca SIEL organizers permitted displays that can only endanger the moderate Moroccan monarchy, in encouraging the most radical of Jihadist/Islmamist movements"
The Centre also urged Boos "to blacklist the aforementioned publishers from participating in this October's Frankfurt Book fair"
"Not only do they undermine Arab hopes for justice and democratic stability, they also violate German policy towards the region and your Fair's contractual commitment to prevent incitement by exhibitors", concluded Samuels.