'A Zionist framing of Palestinian history': Why a book on Palestine was pulled from its publisher
A book deal with Penguin Random House, the world's largest book publisher, was a dream for two Palestinian authors who had spent the last two years working on a book detailing Palestinian history.
Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari are both vocal Palestinian-American activists with sizable online audiences. For them, the deal with Penguin Random House was an opportunity to educate many young readers about Palestinian oppression.
Matari, who also spoke on behalf of Hadid, told Middle East Eye they believed their work could impact young readers' perspectives on the Palestinian struggle for liberation from the illegal Israeli occupying force and give them tools to call out oppression.
The book was set to be titled Displacement and the Palestinian American Story, part of an ongoing series of non-fiction books for young teens.
"Kids will eventually learn to connect dots very easily... and they will learn how to voice their rejection of other people's oppression," Matari said.
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But that deal came to a halt when their publisher refused to budge on several edits made unilaterally to their book, which the authors never reviewed or approved.
Matari described the editorial process to MEE as strenuous and unconventional, saying their book went through several rounds of internal and external edits, with the publisher's legal and public relations teams also weighing in.
The author said their book was already on sale for pre-order when issues began to arise with their publisher.
"We had never actually seen the full manuscript until we basically had to beg for it in June of 2026," with the book set to be published just three months later, Matari told MEE.
That's when they discovered several changes had been made to their manuscript.
"The actions of October 7th [2023] were a violation of international law," read a line in the introduction to a chapter, omitting any space to include Palestinians' right to resist against an illegal occupying force, according to international law.
The authors were shocked to find this line that dismissed the Palestinian right to resistance. They reviewed their emails and documents to double-check if anyone from the publishing house had sought their permission for its addition.
When they addressed the publisher about removing the line, the heads at Penguin Random House told them: "If we did not include this line, the entirety of the book would be invalidated."
Under international law, occupied people have a right to armed resistance, but the publishers sought to frame that resistance as unlawful, the authors said.
MEE reached out to Penguin Random House for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
'Our concern is not accuracy'
Matari said it's not her place to condemn how occupied people resist oppression and that she and Hadid reject the idea that diaspora Palestinians should do so.
"To believe that you have the power or ability to do so is so arrogant," Matari said.
Matari said they believe these changes to their book were a result of "internal pressure to accommodate a Zionist framing of Palestinian history".
When they exchanged emails with leadership at Penguin Random House about the editorial disputes, the authors were told: "Our concern is not accuracy."
"To hear that that's not a concern... is just unacceptable," Matari told MEE.
The publisher's response was a turning point for the authors, who describe the publisher's edits as ones that "were only being made to protect Jewish feelings, versus protect Palestinian existence", Matari said.
"That was when we knew we had to move on."
Hadid and Matari's book was meant to be part of a larger Race to Truth series, Penguin Random House's nonfiction collection of seven books narrating global history from the perspectives of marginalised communities, including African Americans and Indigenous peoples.
Matari told MEE that Penguin Random House also pushed back against the authors' use of the word "Jewish" as a modifier throughout the book, including in references to Jewish gangs that carried out attacks against Palestinians before 1948.
The authors had drawn on historical newspaper headlines, including from The New York Times and The London Times, that described the groups as "Jewish gangs" or "Jewish terrorists".
Matari said the publisher tried to make the terms "Jewish", "Zionist" and "Israeli" interchangeable, which she rejected as historically inaccurate.
"That was something that I really rejected, mainly because it was incorrect, but also for the safety of the Jewish community," she told MEE.
For the authors, accuracy and the safety of others trumped any pressure from publishers.
"We understood that it made people uncomfortable to read this, but unfortunately, history and decolonial history are supposed to make you uncomfortable," she said.
"We refused to switch that term out just to appease other people's comfort."
The authors have since been returned the rights to their book, and they are now moving forward with independent Palestinian publishing house Interlink Publishing.
Pattern of censorship
This is not the first time Matari has been at the centre of a book-related controversy. Just last month, Matari was one of two authors to file a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Public Library over the cancelled Read Palestine Week book event.
The cancellation came after a staff librarian wrote a letter to library leadership alleging the authors had antisemitic views and terrorist ties. Both authors are alleging discrimination and First Amendment speech violations.
'It's a reminder to myself how important this work is'
- Jenan Matari, author
Last year Matari authored and published Everything Grows in Jiddo's Garden, a Palestinian children's book, but she said her book promotion event at a Montclair bookstore was cancelled following a campaign from Zionists who pressured the bookstore to call off the event.
The pattern of censorship is unsurprising to Matari.
"There's something about teaching children about the truth of Palestine that people are very uncomfortable with," she said.
For Matari and Hadid, the issue is bigger than their publishing deal; it's about who gets to write history, who gets to frame it, and the access one loses to mainstream institutions when one stands up for their values.
"I think the majority of people who are continuously censored would be very discouraged to continue. But I'm kind of amped up. I use it as fuel. It's a reminder to myself how important this work is," Matari said.
"If it's making this many people mad, if it's making this many institutions mad and uncomfortable, then you must be doing something right."
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