Echoes of Antisemitism: Frankfurt Book Fair Part 2
A Report by Shimon Samuels and Alex Uberti
PART 2
Safahat for Studies and Publishing, Damascus
7 – “The rise of Nazism; Germany between the two world wars: political, social, and economic”, by Nermin Saad El-Din Ibrahim. Holocaust denial and the “Nazi-Zionist” conspiracy theory.
In pure Syrian conspiracy theory tradition, this book has no less than six Nazi swastikas on the front cover. According to the author, since “history is written by the victors,” what we know about Nazism is merely the fruit of “Zionist pressure”. The book is supposed to prove a purported “cooperation between Nazism and Zionism”… and the conclusion is that “the Arabs are still until now paying the price of Zionist extremism and organized terrorism of Israel.”
Unsurprisingly, this delusional conspiracy theory was also the subject of current Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ 1982 PhD thesis at the Moscow-based “Patrice Lumumba” University for developing countries’ elites. As a matter of fact, this conspiracy theory falls under the KGB’s Cold War strategic destabilization doctrine, specifically devised to upset international solidarity with Israel by stripping Zionism of its ethical legitimacy, to invert the narrative of victimhood from the Jews to the Arabs, to isolate Israel internationally and force Western democracies into a defensive diplomatic posture… It is still widely exploited in today’s pro-Palestinian rallies.
8 – “The Great Deception: Are the Jews really God’s chosen people?”, by Muhammad Jahal Tahan. A collection of antisemitic defamatory tropes.
This book draws inspiration from the English author Nesta Helen Webster (1876-1960), who revived conspiracy theories about the Illuminati, the communists, the Jews, the Freemasons, etc… mostly based on the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” forgery. As a fervent antisemite, member of the British Union of Fascists, and an admirer of Hitler, Webster inspired neo-Nazi movements worldwide, as well as Christian and Islamic fundamentalists alike. It is not surprising that she may be considered a reference for contemporary antisemitic literature in Arab countries.
Among other books published by Damascus-based Safahat, we need to mention also: “Dictionary of Palestinian Poets in the Modern and Contemporary Era” by Khalil Mahmoud Al-Samadi, which claims a “complete international consensus that Palestinians have been subjected to oppression unparalleled by any other people in the world” [really?]; “Palestine in the American Mind (1492-1948)” by Ahmed Al-Dabash, which tries to explain how “the Jewish and Zionist lobby” has subjugated US willpower; another book by Ahmed Al-Dabash, “Palestine from here emerged civilization – from the Paleolithic era to the Chalcolithic era”, accuses “the Zionist movement was keen on spreading lies… to justify its usurpation of Palestine.” The book promises “to deconstruct the Zionist claim linking the city of Jerusalem to the Torah narrative”.
Dar al Ain Publishing, Cairo
9 – “The Serpent’s Biography”, by Azzedine Mihoubi. Demonization through metaphors.
The Algerian author, former Minister of Communication and 2019 Presidential candidate, portrays Zionism as a venomous, deceptive creature (antisemitic animal metaphor), and refers to a “greater snake” (metaphor of the US, or the West) pulling the strings or backing the “lesser snake”. This feeds directly into centuries-old conspiratorial tropes about global orchestration and manipulation of world affairs. This best-seller in Arab countries is considered “a Palestinian epic written by an Algerian pen”. For us, it is an offshoot of the heinous “Protocols”.
10 – “A world without Israel”, by Mohammed Al-Bahli. Another conspiracy theory.
In the publisher’s words, the Jews are instigating “a conspiracy against the Arab and Islamic world… the Zionist entity was implanted in the heart of the Arab nation… Israel is an ‘outpost’ for the West, implementing secret plans and hidden agendas aimed at fragmenting the Arab and Islamic world, manipulating the colonial game in the region, and working to drown it in wars and strife, sowing the seeds of sectarianism, religious and ethnic divisions among its peoples, standing against its unity and renaissance, drawing up maps, plans and strategies aimed at achieving the Zionist goals that Israel seeks to realize in the Arab region… manufacturing terrorism, and the secret of the relationship that binds Israel to Iran.” The author speaks of the Middle East as if it had a homogeneous Arab-Islamic identity, devoid of its inherent complexity and diversity.
Maktabet al-Dar al-Arabia Lel-Ketab, Cairo
This is an Egyptian-Lebanese publisher, also known as the Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah Bookstore.
11 – “The Abrahamic Religion and the Deal of the Century”, by Dr. Heba Gamal El-Din. A paranoid conspiracy theory rooted in religion.
In the publisher’s words, “This book addresses one of the most significant and dangerous conspiracies being plotted against the Arab region… to breach historical boundaries and pave the way for the establishment of a so-called ‘Greater Israel’… the author explores the link between the ‘Abrahamic religion’ and the ‘Deal of the Century’… the return of Jews to Arab countries… to redraw the map of the entire region, paving the way for its complete domination by the Zionist entity.”
Beyond the considerable amount of problematic texts on Arab publishers’ catalogues, the American publisher Interlink/Olive Branch Press displays an obsession for Zionism, portrayed through the lens of “apartheid”, “colonization” and “genocide”. It collaborates with several radical anti-Israel organizations – such as Sumud, BDS, CodePink, etc…
In line with the digital age, the “2026 Hate Prize” goes to online catalogues and platforms, such as the Lebanon-based Neelwafurat, which hosts publishers, authors and books glorifying violence against Israel and the Jews, relaying Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories, trying by all means to delegitimize Israel and Jewish identity.
The “Runners-up prize“ goes to the listed publishers and authors encompassing the Near East, for their malicious effort to exhume yet other antisemitic literature than the usual “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, “The International Jew”, or “Mein Kampf”. Their illusion that old Fascist and evolutionary racialist thinkers, or Muslim Brotherhood and Jihadi propaganda, might actually pass unnoticed, is pathetic. We will continue to monitor and denounce hate and antisemitism, addressing lists of biased publishers to the new Frankfurter BuchMesse Director, or to any competent local, national or international authority.
The “Outsider prize“ could not find candidates this year, as the alternative “Palestinian Book Fair” – a tool to threaten and blackmail – was also a flop.
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Dr. Shimon Samuels is former Director for International Relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Alex Uberti is Consultant and Project Manager for CSW-Europe
