Diaspora Affairs Ministry pens letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
The ministry notes that the materials they are most concerned over are those that promote Holocaust denial or conspiracies involving Jews.
By ZACHARY KEYSERFILE PHOTO: Founder, Chairman, CEO and President of Amazon Jeff Bezos speaks during an event about Blue Origin's space exploration plans in Washington(photo credit: REUTERS)
Diaspora Affairs Minister Omer Yankelovich penned a letter to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos asking the e-commerce giant head to help prevent the distribution and dissemination of antisemitic books, literature and materials across the Amazon marketplace.The Diaspora Affairs Ministry notes that the materials they are most concerned over are those that promote Holocaust denial or conspiracies involving Jews."As a leading source for book sales worldwide, Amazon plays a central role in influencing the perceptions and opinions of millions of people around the world," Yankelovich said in the letter. "While the [Diaspora Affairs Ministry] acknowledges and appreciates the [current] efforts in preventing the sale of materials which distort – or deny the Holocaust as a historical fact or which falsely blame Jewish victims for their fate during World War II – there is still as significant amount of antisemitic books being distributed through the platform."The ministry's letter notes a study it performed over the course of the past year, investigating the Amazon bookstore's role in the distribution of Holocaust denial and antisemitic material. It states that there has been a "significant decrease of approximately 60%" in the number of sales of antisemitic materials across the platform within the confines of the study, compared to the previous year.This includes an 85% decrease in French language material, 50% in English and 40% in German, across the board for the Amazon marketplace."Still, there are many antisemitic books being shared through Amazon," the letter said. "We request a formal policy that prevents the sale of antisemitic titles and books which promote Holocaust denial and hatred of Jews."The Diaspora Affairs Ministry offered Amazon its cooperation in coming up with a policy that encompasses the goal of diminishing or eradicating the spread of antisemitic materials over the Amazon marketplace – and will even provide Amazon with a list of books currently being distributed that violate the IHRA definition of antisemitism as well as their monitoring center's resources that specialize in identifying and removing such titles across all languages, upon Amazon's request."An established platform such as Amazon ought not be used as a provider for spreading antisemitic falsehoods, but rather as a platform that promotes the spread of wisdom, knowledge and tolerance," the letter stated.
