AJC Calls on Publisher to Retract Zionism Chapter in Encyclopedia

"It is incomprehensible that a reputable publisher would include the national movement of the Jewish people, Zionism, in an encyclopedia on racism," said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris. "No other form of nationalism is included in the three-volume encyclopedia. Gale has given fodder to academia and beyond to assault theState of Israel."

Available in both print and online versions, the encyclopedia is published by Macmillan Reference USA, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning.

In a letter to Frank Menchaca, Gale executive vice president and publisher, AJC not only questioned why Zionism was included in the encyclopedia, but also pointed out a number of factual and historical inaccuracies in the chapter.

"Regrettably, the reply we received was vague and equivocal," said Harris.

Menchaca wrote that the role of Gale, as a reference publishing house, is "to convey the scholarship on the topic at hand, ensure its accuracy to the greatest degree possible and to rely upon the expertise and judgment of our board to alert us to lapses."

"Reference publishers have the duty to summarize controversies, not participate in them," Menchaca continued.

"This attempt at benign neutrality is outrageous," said Harris. "Editors and publishers absolutely are responsible for presenting facts and not twisting them in ways that embellish and advance myths. Reference publishers also have a responsibility to choose authors with first-rate credentials and expertise. Again, in the case of the Zionism chapter, Gale publishing fell short."

The author of the Zionism chapter, Noel Ignatiev, has no track record of scholarship in Middle Eastern or Jewish studies, but his previous writings do show an inherent bias towards Jews andIsrael. Indeed, the entry misrepresents Zionism as an "ideology of race" and scandalously promotes the canard of Zionist-Nazi "collaboration."

"The chapter is littered with serious errors and deliberate distortions," said Harris. "Yet it is presented to readers as an impartial and objective overview of Zionism in what purports to be a reference work."

"What is being marketed as scholarship actually is propaganda, and that's shameful," said Harris.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

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