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  Gale/Macmillan, which is in the business of publishing educational materials, publishes an online and print edition of An Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. Appallingly, the encyclopedia includes a chapter on Zionism.
THE TOPIC OF ZIONISM DOES NOT BELONG IN AN ENCYCLOPEDIA ABOUT RACISM.
We urge you to take action:
1. Sign the online petition to Gale/Macmillan, urging the publisher to remove the chapter on Zionism. The petition may be accessed directly at http://www.petitiononline.com/GaleMac/petition.html; and
2. Contact Gale/Macmillan and let the publisher know that by including the chapter on Zionism, it is promoting an ugly anti-Semitic lie. Contact Patrick C. Sommers, the president of Gale/Macmillan. Use the sample letter (below), or write your own letter.
Mr. Patrick C. Sommers, President
Gale, a Cengage Learning Company
27500 Drake Road
Farmington Hills, MI 48331
Re: Encyclopedia of Race and Racism
Dear Mr. Sommers:
I was appalled to learn that there is a chapter on Zionism in the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism published by Gale under its Macmillan Reference USA imprint. Zionism has nothing to do with race or racism. It is the expression of the Jewish people’s yearning to return to their historical and religious homeland in the Land of Israel. The Jewish people also have a legal right to the land, as recognized by the League of Nations in 1922, and then by the United Nations.
I understand that others have already complained to Gale/Macmillan about including the entry on Zionism and that in response, Gale/Macmillan has issued an apology and promised to supplement the online version of the encyclopedia with articles reflecting other perspectives on Zionism.
That is not enough. Those who oppose the State of Israel have used the charge that Zionism is racism to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist. Your encyclopedia is promoting the same ugly lie. Including other articles in the online edition of the encyclopedia will not address the problem in the print edition. And the additional articles continue to give legitimacy to the false, inaccurate and hateful notion that Zionism has something to do with racism, when it does not.
Gale/Macmillan identifies itself as a publishing company committed to accurate and responsible scholarship. To live up to that commitment, Gale/Macmillan must stop promoting an ugly Zionist-racist lie. I urge you to immediately remove the chapter on Zionism from the online and print editions of the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. Otherwise, you will continue to bring shame to Gale/Macmillan, and understandably, Gale/Macmillan will continue to leave itself open to the charge of anti-Semitism.
Sincerely,
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