PM Press Blog

Magazine that Rejected ‘Israel’ Ad Promoted ‘Antisemitic’ Book

Outlet that said a Jewish book could ‘cause trouble’ advertised a book that teaches kids ‘intifada’ means ‘rising up for what is right.’

By Francesca Block
The Free Press



On Wednesday, I reported that a trade magazine that promotes books refused to run an ad for Israel Alone because “customers might complain.”

Matt Baldacci, publisher of Shelf Awareness, said an ad for Bernard-Henri Lévy’s book about Israel post-October 7 could give booksellers “trouble they haven’t asked for and don’t wish to have.” The ad was originally scheduled to run on November 1 in the outlet’s weekly newsletter, which goes out to 645,000 general readers.

Since then, I’ve learned a June 14 newsletter from Shelf Awareness, which went out to more than 37,000 publishing professionals, contained an ad for P is for Palestine, a children’s book that has stirred controversy for promoting an “antisemitic” ideology. P Is for Palestine was written by Iranian-Swedish activist Golbarg Bashi and was first published in November 2017 by PM Press, a self-proclaimed “independent, radical publisher.” 

P is for Palestine runs through the alphabet, presenting colorful illustrations and words that represent each letter. In the book, the letter I stands for intifada, which it defines as “Arabic for rising up for what is right, whether you are a kid or a grown up!” 

Magazine that Rejected ‘Israel’ Ad Promoted ‘Antisemitic’ Book

Intifada, in fact, translates to uprising or shaking off. The word is mainly used to describe two eras of violent Palestinian protest against Israel: The First Intifada, from 1987 to 1990, led to the deaths of dozens of Israelis and more than 1,000 Palestinians, and the Second Intifada, from 2000 to 2005, culminated in the deaths of 1,000 Israelis and 4,000 Palestinians.

Jany Finkielsztein, a senior education analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, said that “P is for Palestine serves as a tool of indoctrination rather than simple storytelling. For instance, ‘I is for intifada’ portrays violent uprisings in a favorable manner, conveying a harmful narrative to impressionable young children.

“Books that prioritize indoctrination aren’t literature.”

On Friday, Shelf Awareness released an apology for rejecting the ad for Israel Alone, addressing its statement “to everyone who is angry and disappointed about our recent decision.” 

The statement went on to “clarify” that the ad was canceled from its weekly newsletter “that we publish on behalf of more than 250 independent bookstores, reaching 600,000 readers, with the goal of helping booksellers promote reading and sell more books. Our bookstore partners cannot block titles that are advertised. As a result, we are careful to keep in mind that every advertised title we include appears to the bookstores’ customers as something the store itself is endorsing.”

The publication said its daily newsletter, Shelf Awareness Pro—geared toward 37,000 publishing professionals—“is our own publication sent to our own trade audience, in which we can offer a broad range of voices and viewpoints.” 

The ad for P is for Palestine appeared in Shelf Awareness Pro.

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