Israel, and Jews, can’t get a break these days — even from kid-lit authors.
Addressing the US surge in anti-Semitism, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators finally condemned Jew-hatred in a statement last month — but only to water it down with a later post.
Anti-Semitism has fueled “a 75% increase in hate speech and random violence against Jewish people,” read the group’s initial statement. “As writers, illustrators, and translators of children’s literature, we are responsible for promoting equity” for “all children and all families.”
The group warned that “silence” on such an issue “is often mistaken for acceptance” and urged readers to speak out “against all forms of hate, including antisemitism.”
Yet after some pushback — particularly from one Palestinian-American activist and writer — the group posted an apology to “everyone in the Palestinian community who felt unrepresented, silenced or marginalized” and to the activist, in particular, for deleting her posts on its Facebook page (which it apparently first considered hateful) and blocking her on Twitter.
SCBWI’s diversity chief, a black Jewish woman, actually resigned, saying she regrettably “neglected to address the rise in Islamophobia” — and later reported getting death threats.
Meanwhile, numerous left-leaning professional and academic groups have gone even further, blasting Israel for a war launched by Hamas: Last month, the union representing City University of New York professors slammed Jerusalem for May’s conflict with the Gaza terror group — with nary a word about the 4,300 rockets fired at the Jewish state. The gender studies departments at 130 universities likewise bashed Israel, and spared Hamas, as did the American Anthropological Association, among others.
Such actions, which single out Israel and grossly distort the facts, can only be seen for what they are: blatant anti-Semitism, plain and simple. The result, sadly, will only be more attacks on innocent Jews and Israel.