UNESCO is ‘Honorary Guest’ at Sharjah Book Fair amid Display Stands of Antisemitic Titles
November 4, 2016
| SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE - Europe Fax: +33(0)1 47 20 84 01 Email: csweurope@gmail.com Wiesenthal Centre to UNESCO Director-General: “While we commend your firm stance against antisemitism, we urge you to condemn dangerous displays at Arab Book Fairs and remove UNESCO from Sharjah…” Paris, 4 November 2016 In a letter to UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, noted the Centre’s alert to UNESCO regarding “the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which in 2015 displayed an array of Jewish conspiracy titles,” adding, “We urged UNESCO to disassociate itself from the 2016 Fair, which opened on 2 November, featuring the organization as its Honoured Guest.” The letter lamented that, “…nevertheless, UNESCO now plays a central role at the SIBF, thereby indirectly associated with an unprecedented number of antisemitic titles (see selected photos, titles and authors in attachment). 
Photo: Stand at the Sharjah International Book Fair Samuels argued that: “This massive “low-tech” injection of Jew-hatred at Arab government-sponsored Fairs creates a vicious circle of incitement to violence, targeting Jews and Jewish institutions, within a short-drive from UNESCO’s Paris headquarters.”
Photo: The Great Conspiracy to Control the World: The 13th Tribe that Governs Israel and the World, Mansour Abdel Hakim The letter claimed that, “the circle continues with Arab governments – now captive to the hate they have instigated – relentlessly pressing UNESCO resolutions to delete Jewish heritage in the Holy Land.”Samuels emphasized that, “the circle ends with the cajoling and even the intimidating of member-states to support these outrageous resolutions.” The Centre commended the Director-General for her “firm stand against hate, especially antisemitism,” adding, “we thus urge you to condemn these dangerous displays at Arab Book Fairs and remove UNESCO from the current Sharjah Fair.” “Such a measure may impact forthcoming Fairs, from Casablanca to Cairo, Doha to Abu Dhabi and Muscat to Riyadh… It is time to break the vicious circle of hatred,” concluded Samuels. These findings were shared with all states voting for or abstaining on the ‘Jerusalem resolutions’ at the October Executive Board and World Heritage Committee meetings in Paris. For further information, please contact Shimon Samuels on +33 609 77 01 58, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino). list of a selection of books found at the Sharjah International Book Fair 2016 |
- Regional Offices
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Midwest US
- Southern US
- Toronto
- Jerusalem
- Paris
- Buenos Aires
