B'nai B'rith International has sent a letter to Apple Chief Executive Officer Timothy Cook asking for the anti-Semitic app "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" to be removed from Apple's iTunes App Store.
In the letter B'nai B'rith International President Allan J. Jacobs and Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin write: "'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,' a proven forgery, purports to show a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. This anti-Semitic tract has been used over the past century to incite violence against Jews."
Apple is known for its stringent guidelines applications must meet before being approved for sale in the App Store. Apps deemed defamatory, offensive or likely to expose a targeted group to violence are normally rejected by Apple. We are appalled "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" made it through the review process, as this text is often used by Neo-Nazis and anti-Semitic Arab groups to drum up hatred toward Jews.
The letter also notes: "The distribution of 'The Protocols' in Arabic is meant to instill blind hatred of Jews in a part of the world were anti-Israel animus is already all-too-common. Technology can be used as a tool to better the world, but it also has the power to spread hate quickly and more widely."
The publishing of this app condones the spreading of hateful actions that B'nai B'rith works to prevent.
Mr. Timothy D. Cook
Chief Executive Officer
Apple Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Mr. Cook,
On behalf of B'nai B'rith International-the world's oldest and best-known Jewish humanitarian, advocacy and social action organization, with members in over 50 countries-we are writing to request Apple immediately remove a mobile app version of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" that is for sale on Apple's iTunes App Store.
"The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," a proven forgery, purports to show a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. This anti-Semitic tract has been used over the past century to incite violence against Jews. "The Protocols" continues to be popular among Neo-Nazis, and has been reprinted often in the Arab and Muslim world. We are appalled by reports that a developer has made an Arabic version of "The Protocols" into a mobile application and is selling it through the App Store.
The distribution of "The Protocols" in Arabic is meant to instill blind hatred of Jews in a part of the world where anti-Israel animus is all-too-common. Technology can be used as a tool to better the world, but it also has the power to spread hate quickly and more widely.
We recognize that Apple has guidelines for applications that must meet its approval, and that applications that are deemed defamatory, offensive or likely to expose a targeted group to violence will be rejected by Apple. We call on Apple to enforce these strict standards on the applications being offered through the App Store, and monitor to ensure this process is effective regardless of the language that the application is offered in.
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