Key facts
- Waverley Library in Sydney has removed the book "How to Sell a Genocide" for review.
- The removal was prompted by a complaint from a survivor of the Bondi beach terror attack.
- The book criticizes alleged US media complicity in the destruction of Gaza.
- The author and progressive Jewish and Palestinian advocacy groups have criticized the removal.
- Waverley Council stated it outsources book curation and will review selection processes.
Waverley Library in Sydney has removed the book "How to Sell a Genocide" from its shelves following a complaint reportedly from a survivor of the Bondi beach terror attack. The book, which critiques alleged US media complicity in the destruction of Gaza, was found on a "new release / hot item" shelf.
A spokesperson for Waverley Council stated that the book has been removed for review and that the council will consider processes for closer oversight of book selection, noting that book curation is typically outsourced. The decision has drawn criticism from the book's author, Adam Johnson, who argued that the term 'genocide' in relation to Gaza is a mainstream opinion among human rights experts and that reality is often upsetting.
Progressive Jewish Council of Australia executive member Bart Shteinman called the removal "deeply alarming" and asserted that public libraries should host a range of views. Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, stated that libraries have a duty to provide access to challenging works and that the word 'genocide' is used to describe the scale and intent of events in Gaza. David Shulman, the senior commissioning editor at Pluto Press, described Johnson's analysis as rigorous and stated the book should be widely available.
Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide in Gaza. New South Wales recently passed legislation to protect libraries from book-banning campaigns.