Thread by @DrMJCWarren

So over the last week I’ve been reading and analyzing the manifesto attached to the white supremacist terrorist attack that killed 10 people in Buffalo. 1/14

It’s 180 pages long & a difficult read. I’ve been looking for references to biblical texts in these kinds of manifestos as part of my work on Christian anti-Judaism, antisemitism, & Judeophobia. 2/14

This manifesto did not include a single biblical reference. I was surprised. 3/14

It did have a long list of mostly spurious “quotations” purporting to be from the Talmud and other Jewish texts. Many of the titles were made up and didn’t refer to any actual Jewish text. 4/14

Others were excerpts taken so far out of context that their original meaning was completely inverted. Rabbis citing an example of what NOT to do are presented as if that’s what they advocate. 5/14

Some of the texts were spelled strangely. This led me to discover a source for this vitriolic & inaccurate representation of Jewish texts. It’s spread beyond this text, but its widespread use is in part bc of how widely available this book is. 6/14

The book is called _The Talmud Unmasked: The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians_ by Pranaitis (hereafter: TTU). It was first published in the late 19th century. You can Google if you want to know more. This thread is about today. 7/14

When I googled TTU a whole bunch of hits for bookstores came up, selling hard and e-copies of this horrific book for under £20. Some as low as £4. It was widely available from mainstream, high street bookstores. 8/14

(If you search now you’ll notice you don’t get many high street shops anymore. I spent 2 days calling and emailing to ask that stores stop selling TTU and to their credit, almost everyone I’ve contacted has taken quick action.) 9/14

The other hit you get if you Google is from @GoodReads, a social media platform for sharing book reviews & connecting to other readers. I’m not linking to the entry for TTU because it’s hateful. You can find it easily online. 10/14

The reviews on @Goodreads for TTU are over all very positive. By which I mean reviewers bought the lies Pranaitis was selling. Some comments actually call for genocide. Others quote other anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. There is only one critical review. 11/14

I emailed @GoodReads & was assured that they would look into it. This afternoon I got an email that said: “We have investigated this situation and taken appropriate action as needed. This will be our final email on the matter.” 12/14

Not a single hate-filled antisemitic review has been removed. I have replied asking what specific actions were taken by @GoodReads but they’ve made it clear they won’t be speaking to me further about this. 13/14

If you are a @GoodReads member (I’m not) maybe you want to make your opinion known. 14/14

As of this morning the @goodreads review of TTU which called for genocide has been taken down. The other antisemitic 5⭐️ reviews are still up. So I guess that is the extent of the action @goodreads intends to take.