NYT Criticized For Allowing An 'Unqualified Endorsement' Of Anti-Semitic Book
Last edited Tue Dec 18, 2018, 06:18 AM - Edit history (2)
The New York Times is standing by its decision to publish Alice Walker’s recommendation of an author known for conspiracy-mongering.
The New York Times is under fire for publishing an interview with author Alice Walker in which she recommends a book by a notorious conspiracy-mongering anti-Semite.
The Times’ By the Book column Sunday printed a Q&A with Walker, and its first question to the Pulitzer winner was what books she keeps on her nightstand.
That’s when she cited David Icke’s And the Truth Shall Set You Free, which discusses at length The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the infamous document accusing Jews of launching a scheme for global domination.
However, Walker described the book favorably, neglecting to mention any contextualizing information and appearing to offer her stamp of approval for the British author.
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Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told HuffPost the Times made the wrong move. Expressing his criticism in a statement, he emphasized Icke’s history of peddling hate.
We’re deeply disappointed that The New York Times Book Review would print author Alice Walker’s unqualified endorsement of a book by notorious British anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist David Icke. His book “And the Truth Shall Set you Free,” calls Judaism an “incredibly racist” religion which preaches “racial superiority,” claims that a “Jewish clique” fomented World War I and World War II as well as the Russian Revolution, and draws heavily on the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” for inspiration. He even casts doubt on the Holocaust and condemns the Nuremberg Trials. He has a long history of scapegoating Jews, and Times readers should be aware of this before considering his work.
Despite Greenblatt’s remarks, a Times spokesperson told HuffPost it stands by its decision to publish the interview as is, without any information on Icke other than Walker’s flattering commentary.
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The Southern Poverty Law Center, a respected hate watch group, once wrote about Icke, describing his dangerous ideologies.
More than anyone else, the British conspiracist David Icke has popularized the Alien version of New World Order conspiracy. The former sportscaster’s elaborate theory is the Sgt. Peppers album-cover of the genre, featuring the Masons, the Vatican, the Illuminati, the House of Windsor — everyone is there. At the center of the theory is an alien race of lizard people from the fifth-dimension. Though Icke has always denied trafficking in anti-Semitism, he has endorsed the Protocols of the Elders of Zion — the famous forgery and foundational text of modern anti-Semitism — choosing to call it “The Illuminati Protocols.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alice-walker-book-column-anti-semistism_us_5c17ea1de4b0b1ea387f56c9
Another reference to this:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/dec/17/alice-walker-antisemitic-david-icke-book
This isn't the first time this controversey has been brought up:
"Allegations of anti-Semitism[edit]
In May 2013, Walker expressed appreciation for the works of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist David Icke.[39][40][41] On BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, she said that Icke's book Human Race Get Off Your Knees would be her choice if she could have only one book.[42] The book promotes the theory that the Earth is ruled by shapeshifting reptilian humanoids and "Rothschild Zionists." Jonathan Kay of the National Post described the book as "hateful, hallucinogenic nonsense." He wrote that Walker's public praise for Icke's book was "stunningly offensive" and that by taking it seriously, she was disqualifying herself "from the mainstream marketplace of ideas."[43] In 2017, Walker posted a poem to her blog entitled "It Is Our (Frightful) Duty To Study The Talmud."[44][45] In 2018, Walker was asked by a New York Times interviewer, “What books are on your nightstand?” She listed Icke's And the Truth Shall Set You Free, a book promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theory based on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Walker described the book as, "A curious person’s dream come true."[46] "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Walker#Allegations_of_anti-Semitism
Here is background on David Icke:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke
