NYC couple checks out 5 pro-Palestinian children’s books indefinitely to prevent ‘indoctrination
A Roosevelt Island couple have taken a novel approach to what they say is anti-Israel propaganda in their local library — they’ve checked out five pro-Palestinian children’s books and will keep them indefinitely to prevent them from being used for “indoctrination.”
The books — for children as young as 3 — were prominently on display at the New York Public Library branch during “Read Palestine Week,” with several titles about Palestinians arranged in a “indigenous people’s” display with books about Native Americans.
“It’s pretty easy to understand what they’re doing. They are trying to connect between these two identities, and make Israel and Jews look as if we are colonizers and not indigenous to our land,” said Asaf Eyal, whose wife checked out the books on Dec. 3.
“Placing these books next to the Native American books is a very obvious move. The library manager created this display very purposely,” Eyal, 47, added.
Among the showcased books were “We’re in This Together,” a title by anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour — which offered her view of the situation.
“An international organization called the United Nations decided that Jewish people from Europe, many of whom had experienced the horrors and tragedies of the Holocaust, needed a safe place to live,” she wrote. “But there was one big problem: Palestinians had lived on that land for centuries.
“Of course, if someone took your land, you would do everything in your power to get it back. So, ever since their displacement, Palestinians and other people of Arab descent have been fighting back against this injustice,” she continued, failing to address decades of Palestinian terrorism.
“This is called intifada — the uprising against the Israeli Occupation of places where Palestinians have historically lived.”
Also on the list is “These Olive Trees,” about a Palestinian girl driven off her land by an unnamed “war” — an enemy depicted throughout the book with ghostly white hands snatching her things.
“To this day, Palestinians are being forcibly removed from their homes, as the occupying state slowly swallows the land in its entirety,” Aya Ghanameh writes in the author’s note.
When Eyal’s wife confronted a library employee about the display, the staffer accused Israel of being an “apartheid” state.
“It is the truth. [Palestinians] are indigenous to that land,” the employee told her, according to video obtained by The Post. “Publishers put out a call for read Palestine Week … It’s always a practice of the library to highlight a certain experience at a certain time.”
The New York Public Library was recently defaced by Hamas-loving protesters who painted red hands at the flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman building. The vandalism could cost up to $75,000 to clean up.
Critics said taxpayer-backed non-profits like the NYPL are promoting their own agendas.
“These institutions are basically saying we don’t care about the public, we are doing what we think is good for you regardless of what you think,” said Jay Greene, a senior research fellow at the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. “They are imposing their agenda on others with other people’s money and that’s wrong.”
At an Upper West Side library this week, the Post observed “These Olive Trees” on display along with other woke titles including “If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It” and “Hear My Voice: The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States.”
“Our libraries seem shamefully intent on propagandizing young people. Whether it’s gender confusion or pro-Palestine propaganda, it’s supremely disappointing to see New York City libraries pushing highly politicized content like these books, which are obviously designed to feed children a false narrative about Israel and the Gaza situation,” said Queens GOP Councilwoman Vickie Paladino. “These book displays should be removed immediately and those responsible must be held accountable.”
The NYPL officials condemned the Roosevelt Island display and said they “addressed” the issue with branch staff.
“The New York Public Library strives to present unbiased, objective perspectives and information for the public. These principles are the bedrock of our reputation as well as the trust the public has in us. This unacceptable display fell well short of these principles, which is especially distressing at a time when we are seeing a tragic rise in antisemitism,” a library spokeswoman said. “It is important to offer a range of perspectives for the patron, which is why this display fell so short. It was one-sided, and favored one perspective over another.”
