From Newsgroup: rec.arts.books
On 3/13/26 9:40 AM, Rhino wrote:
Bob Gale, the chair of Niagara Region, one of the regional governments within Ontario, has resigned after an "activist" revealed that he owned a signed
copy of a controversial book: Hitler's Mein Kampf. In fact, he resigned just 9 hours after the information was made public.
I'll guess there's politics behind this that are
only hinted at that aren't disclosed here in
order to frame the article to be supportive
of book banning.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/local/niagara/article/resignation-of-niagara-politician-who-allegedly-owns-signed-copy-of-mein-kampf-a-relief-anti-racism-advocate/
"
Gale described himself as a "passionate historian with a broad
collection of historical art and artifacts" in his resignation
letter, as he detailed the other pieces in his collection, which
also features an 1859 letter from anti-slavery advocate John
Brown, as well as letters from George Washington, Winston
Churchill and Vatican archives.
But Waziruddin said Gale's alleged ownership of "Mein Kampf"
can't be justified.
"This is harmful material. It can't be seen as separated from the
harm. It can't be seen as just a historical artifact of just
curiosity," he said.
Laura Ip, a regional councillor representing St. Catharines,
echoed Waziruddin's remarks and said the only organization that
has any "valid reason" to own an original signed copy of Hitler's
book is a museum.
"And Bob Gale is not a museum".
"
But rather than having been outed as a secret Nazi, the former chair was known to a least one local rabbi and considered a friend to the Jewish community. Gale says he's just an avid collector of rare books.
Not a rare book.
Is owning a controversial book really sufficient grounds to have to give up your job these days? If the local rabbi who knows him has no problem with Gale or his ownership of that book, it would seem like no one else should either. Naturally, if Gale had been found to be a member of a neo-Nazi group or to support Nazism, that would be a different thing entirely.
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