Online retail giant Amazon has joined a Dutch government initiative aimed at stopping the sale of books containing anti-Semitic content, announced Eddo Verdoner, the National Coordinator for

Combating Anti-Semitism (NCAB). Amazon is the latest retailer to support this initiative, which was launched last year.

"Selling anti-Semitic books is a livelihood for some writers," Verdoner told NU.nl in an interview published Thursday. "But hatred of Jews should never become a business model." The NCAB issued a press release on Friday morning regarding Amazon's participation.

Other significant participants in the initiative include Amazon's leading Dutch competitor Bol, Audax group retailers Bruna and ReadShop, which operate both large webshops and over 430 physical stores, as well as bookseller Libris, library association NBD Biblion, and second-hand goods website Marktplaats.

These organizations collaborate to share knowledge and experiences on effectively combating the sale of anti-Semitic content. Selling such material is already prohibited in the Netherlands.

"An increasing share of book sales is online, presenting new challenges. That is why a new approach is needed to combat the sale of anti-Semitic content, in addition to the legal approach," Verdoner stated.

Bol alone has already removed hundreds of books due to anti-Semitic content, according to ANP. "It is important that as many online players as possible join in. It is positive that a large international party such as Amazon is joining and wants to use its knowledge and experience for this," Verdoner added.