Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Omer Yankelevich on Wednesday called on Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos to remove books featuring anti-Semitic content from the retail giant’s platform.
The appeal followed a study by the ministry’s research center, which found that Amazon currently carries 40 titles that are anti-Semitic or deny the Holocaust. Each has sold thousands of copies.
“While the Diaspora Affairs Ministry appreciates Amazon’s efforts to prevent the selling of items that distort the Holocaust, the platform still features a substantial number of books featuring anti-Semitic content,” Yankelevich wrote to Bezos.
As Amazon is a globally established retailer, “It should not be used to distribute anti-Semitic lies, rather it should promote knowledge and tolerance,” she wrote.
“We demand Amazon instate an official policy barring the sale of anti-Semitic titles that promote Holocaust denial and hatred of Jews.”
She offered Amazon her ministry’s full cooperation: “We offer you full use of the resources at the disposal of our monitoring center, which specializes in detecting and removing such titles in all languages.”
