Posted on November 3, 2024

When a list of Jewish authors is circulating with instructions to boycott them, publishing cannot remain silent

by Kathleen Schmidt; May 13, 2024

I debated whether to wade into these waters, but the “yes” outweighed the “no” in my gut, so here we are. I will preface this post by saying I am not getting political or “taking sides.” I am pointing out something happening and explaining why it is wrong.

On Saturday, I saw a post on Threads that included a spreadsheet with the names of Jewish authors, identifying them as Zionists, not Zionists, and unclear about whether they are Zionists. The instructions were to boycott Jewish authors who this person identified as Zionists. I am not linking to the spreadsheet or naming the person who created it because I don’t want more exposure for them or more danger presented to the authors on the spreadsheet.

I am not here to debate who is or who is not a Zionist. I am, however, going to say something several people may not like or understand, which is that you can fundamentally disagree with Netanyahu’s government without singling out Jewish authors and telling people to boycott them. They do not control the Israeli government. They have no control over the war. Singling out Jewish authors and telling others to boycott them is antisemitic. If you don’t believe in book bans, you shouldn’t be okay with boycotting authors for being Jewish. What troubles me the most about this is the silence from publishers, who should try to ensure authors on the list know they have support. It’s not surprising that the industry is mute here. Publishers tend to avoid wading into complex waters, which is a mistake.

It hasn’t gone over my head that nuanced conversation and the ability to simultaneously hold two (or more) thoughts is severely lacking in the current political climate. Why is it so hard for people to 1) Denounce Hamas, 2) Not want any more deaths in Gaza, and 3) Want the hostages released? Instead, in my estimation, too many people are giving Hamas precisely what they want, which is a hatred of Jews and Israel. Too many people are quick to jump on the bandwagon of hate instead of taking a beat and asking themselves how boycotting Jewish authors helps Palestinians (it doesn’t).

Book publishing is a tricky business as it is. Boycotting authors because they are Jewish isn’t the flex people think it is. It is hateful, and no matter what you believe should happen in Gaza, there is no reason to single out Jewish authors. There was another moment in history when Jews were singled out: the Holocaust.

After October 7, I wrote a piece about whose voices can be heard in book publishing. The answer is that ALL voices, whether Palestinian or Jewish, should be heard. There should not be an effort to boycott authors due to their heritage. If such were the case, we’d have boycotts against Russian authors, Iranian authors, Syrian authors, and so forth. And that is not what the publishing industry is about. I wish more people would say so.

https://kathleenschmidt.substack.com/p/book-publishing-and-antisemitism?r=mfyu&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true