This story speaks to a deeply ingrained antisemitism in Britain: Waterstone's prominently displayed Mein Kampf not only in West Yorkshire, but in Manchester, Liverpool and Cheshire as well. And a Waterstone's staffer in Manchester told Jonathan Levine that it was a Christmas bestseller.
Clearly this goes beyond a few people buying copies of Mein Kampf in order to study how Hitler made his arguments for evil and formulate ways to combat that kind of evil today. This is reminiscent of the fact that Mein Kampf is a consistent bestseller in Turkey and Egypt: it is, in other words, being bought by people who approve of Hitler's genocidal antisemitism, not by those who abhor it. And since it is unlikely that many Muslims in Britain are exchanging Christmas presents, the popularity of Mein Kampf there cannot entirely be accounted for by the rise in the Muslim population. Not just Muslims are buying the book. Obviously the increasing number of Muslims in Britain has given a certain respectability to antisemitism that it did not previously have, at least since the 1920s and 1930s. The culture is rapidly being poisoned. It is their hatred and the world's continuing submission to Islam that have created this toxic environement, in which antisemitism is the fashion. Also, there is clearly a large number of non-Muslim antisemites in Britain who needed no encouragement to hate Jews; they were doing it fine already by themselves.
This cannot and will not end well -- not only for the Jews in Britain but for everyone. A society that tolerates such evil, while at the same time turning a blind eye to the human rights abuses inherent in Islamic law, cannot endure for long as a free and prosperous society.
Waterstone's: Mein Kampf is 'perfect Christmas present' Telegraph December 23, 2011 (hat tip armaros)
Waterstone’s, the High Street bookseller, has apologised after one of its stores recommended Mein Kampf as the “perfect present” for Christmas.
A copy of the Adolf Hitler book was included in a seasonal promotion at a branch in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, bearing a festive label describing it as “an essential read”.
The display was removed after a complaint from a customer. A Waterstone’s spokesman said: “A customer spotted that one shop had used a seasonal point-of-sale wraparound promoting the book as the ‘perfect present’.
“Obviously this was not an appropriate thing to say about Mein Kampf.
“We apologise for the offence caused and will communicate with all our branches at the earliest possible opportunity to remind them of the sensitivities surrounding our stocking of Mein Kampf.”
The spokesman added that most Waterstone’s branches stock a few copies of the book, which was published in 1925 and set out Hitler’s early political theories.
However, Jonathan Levine, 44, a Jewish salesman from Manchester, claimed that multiple copies of the book are on prominent display in stores in Manchester, Liverpool and Cheshire.
He told the Jewish Chronicle: “I would be most obliged if Waterstone’s would explain what lies behind the apparent zeal on their part to promote this disgusting work.
“When challenging one of the staff in Manchester’s Deansgate branch, I was told that it was a Christmas bestseller which sold really well - a dubious justification indeed for selling this hateful work.”
Responding to Mr Levine’s claims, Waterstone’s said: “We do not believe that we actively promote this book. Our customers are capable of forming their own opinions on whether to purchase it or not.”
"We do not believe that we actively promote this book"? What does that mean? Waterstone's doesn't know for sure whether or not it promotes it? This strangely equivocal answer is indictment in itself.
