Anti-Semitic Wagner letter up for sale in Jerusalem
(Artdaily.org)

A letter penned by Richard Wagner warning of Jewish influence in culture will be auctioned next week in Israel, where public performances of German anti-Semitic composer`s works are effectively banned. Wagner, whose grandiose and nationalistic 19th century work is infused with anti-Semitism, misogyny and proto-Nazi ideas of racial purity, was Adolf Hitler`s favourite composer. While there is no law in Israel banning his works from being played in Israel, orchestras and venues refrain from doing so because of the public outcry and disturbances accompanying past attempts. Tuesday`s sale of the handwritten letter, dated April 25, 1869 and addressed to French philosopher Edouard Schure, could rekindle the debate in Israel on the controversial composer. Wagner wrote in the letter that Jewish assimilation