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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wiesenthal Centre Applauds UNESCO Condemnation of Alexandria Library Display of 'Protocols of Elders of Zion' as "Jewish Holy Book"
Paris, 5 December 2003
In advance of an Experts Seminar on "The Centennial of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion: a Paradigm for Contemporary Hate Literature" to be held this weekend in Venice, UNESCO has condemned the display of the notorious Czarist forgery often called the Bible of antisemitism, alongside the holy books of monotheistic religion at the renovated Alexandria Library.
UNESCO's appeal stressed that "It could be argued that a document of this kind, although a forgery, has a place within a museum of historical manuscripts, but it would be most disturbing if this document were displayed in such a way as to excite anti-Semitism".
UNESCO continued, "You will understand that any form of racism is anathema to UNESCO…" The Organization is waiting to receive "reassurance that the Library of Alexandria has in no way left itself open to any accusation of racism in general or anti-Semitism in particular."
The Experts Seminar, under the auspices of UNESCO, is co-organized by ARARE (Academic Response to Antisemitism and Racism in Europe) – the campus arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre – and by the Italian Historical Studies Institute Olokaustos.
The ancient Alexandria Library was renovated by the Governments of Egypt and Italy via UNESCO. Its director, Dr. Yousef Ziedan explained that he had added 'the Protocols' to the exhibit next to the Torah as "though not a monotheistic holy book, it has become one of the sacred tenets of the Jews… more important to the Jews than the Torah… it is only natural to place the book in an exhibit of Torah scrolls."
In an article on his heritage and manuscript website, 'WWW and the Informatics Plexus', Ziedan wrote: "When Hitler's atrocities are mentioned, (people) immediately point out the cremation of the Jews in the gas chambers… Schindler's List was banned in our country (Egypt) so we will not have to cry over the fate of the poor Jews... In reality, had Hitler wanted to annihilate the poor Jews of Europe, he would have. He had an opportunity. The distance between events and widespread knowledge about them is great."
The Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Liaison, Dr. Shimon Samuels, also requested Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to condition continued Italian funding of the Alexandria Library upon the definitive withdrawal of the Protocols from display, the dismissal of its current Director and a public condemnation by the Library of the pernicious nature of 'The Protocols' which violates European Union provisions on incitement to hate and defiles an ancient monument of World Heritage.
Samuels, who is also co-Chair of ARARE added that "the Venice Seminar will expose the dangers of the Protocols as the bedrock for all contemporary hate literature."
ARARE is the campus arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, established in 1994 and comprises over 500 professors and rectors at universities in thirty European countries. Olokaustos is an Italian historical studies centre, established in 2001 and based in Venice.