Nazi items sold at Dublin market

By · August 5, 2008

The sale of Nazi memorabilia at a north Dublin market may violate Irish law.

Ruairi Quinn, the chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland, called for an investigation into the sale of the memorabilia and propaganda materials at the Sunday market. Quinn, who is also a member of the Irish parliament, said the items could be in breach of the country’s incitement to hatred laws.

The items include DVDs of the anti-Semitic film “The Eternal Jew,” as well as Nazi-era ashtrays featuring Jewish caricatures.

While Nazi items and symbols are not specifically banned in Ireland as they are in Germany, the country’s anti-incitement laws prohibit the distribution of material that is threatening, abusive or insulting and intended, or likely, to stir up hatred. The prohibitions include written material, audio recordings and videos.

The Israeli embassy in Dublin condemned the sale of the materials. In a statement to an Irish Sunday newspaper, it said anti-Semitism was “not only a Jewish problem or an Israeli problem,” but a “sickness which eats at the core of humanity.”

The vendor said he plans to continue selling the merchandise, which he said is selling well, despite the negative reaction.