New York, NY, September 22, 2004 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the decision by Walmart.com to remove the notorious anti-Semitic forgery, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion from its online catalog of books after receiving and taking into consideration "significant customer feedback."

Wal-Mart informed the League of its decision to no longer carry the book in response to ADL's letter to the retailer expressing concern about how the book was described on the Wal-Mart site, where it was suggested that the book may not be a forgery.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We are pleased that Walmart.com has made a decision based on feedback from its customers to remove The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion from their online catalog of books.  The choice was theirs on whether or not to carry it, and we fully accept their decision.  Wal-Mart has shown great corporate responsibility by listening and responding to the concerns of customers, especially those who may have been offended by the sale of The Protocols and the misleading description on the Walmart.com site.  We commend them for their immediate decision to discontinue sales of the book.

Since we are not in the business of banning books, no matter how reprehensible they may be, we have sought and achieved various solutions in the past few years that have enabled online booksellers to inform book buyers in an upfront manner about the history of the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion and its use to promote conspiracy theories about Jews plotting to control the world.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.