(JTA) — Oxfam, a charitable organization working to end poverty, has apologized for raising funds by selling copies of the anti-Semitic “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
The organization removed the fiction from its online shop when it became aware of their sale.
Copies for sale included a 1936 edition for about $100, as well as 2002 editions selling for about $13. Volunteers price, photograph and place online products for Oxfam’s online shop, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
“The Protocols” is a fabricated anti-Semitic text describing a Jewish plan for global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903.
The chief executive of Oxfam GB, Danny Sriskandarajah, in a phone call apologized to Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mark Regev, after Regev tweeted “Why is Oxfam selling anti-Semitic literature?”
“The books were destroyed & we are looking to learn lessons. This should not have happened,” Sriskandarajah tweeted. “We are sorry that it did and for the offense caused.”
Regev later tweeted that he appreciated the call and the apology.
On Tuesday, the NGO closed its physical charity shops due to the coronavirus crisis.
Oxfam was founded in the United Kingdom and is headquartered in Nairobi.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
