Children’s authors sue LA over library’s cancellation of Read Palestine Week event

Two children’s book authors sued Los Angeles after its public library canceled a virtual conversation featuring Palestinian stories after one library staffer accused the authors of having “strong terrorist ties” and holding “virulently antisemitic views.”

The Guardian reported Tuesday that authors Jenan Matari and Nora Lester Murad sued the city and accused it of discrimination, violating their right to free speech and breach of contract.

Matari and Murad were scheduled to speak at the Los Angeles Public Library’s (LAPL) Teen’Scape program on Dec. 6 before it was canceled three days earlier.

“Palestinian writers and creatives are so exhausted by having to fight every day to have our voices heard,” Matari told the British outlet. “To be censored by an institution like the library is really scary because this is where free speech should be cultivated and nurtured. It sets a very dangerous precedent. … Nora and I agreed we had to show these institutions they cannot continue to get away with this.”

The Hill has reached out to the Los Angeles Office of the City Clerk and the LAPL for comment.

Matari, a Palestinian American, wrote “ Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden ,” a story about a young Palestinian girl learning to tend to her grandfather’s garden.

Murad is Jewish American and wrote “ Ida in the Middle ” about an eighth-grade Palestinian American girl magically whisked away from preparing for a final class project at home to her family’s village near Jerusalem.

Copies of emails from a staff librarian that were obtained by the independent outlet LA Public Press showed the librarian sending links to library staff about the two authors. She said the links, including ones from conservative news websites claiming Matari praised the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She accused the authors of “anti-Jewish hate.”

One website criticized Matari’s writings after the Oct. 7 attack claiming the U.S. was “under Zionist occupation” and, “May this Palestinian uprising be the push needed for the dominos of colonialism to fall from every corner of this world.”

As for Murad, a pro-Israel website said she participated in Gaza solidarity protests at Columbia University in 2024 and chanted, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

The authors told The Guardian they were given no explanation why the event was canceled and that their follow-up requests were ignored.

Matari defended her remarks to The Guardian and accused critics of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Murad also countered the claims, saying the accusation of antisemitism was “laughable.”

“I’m vehemently anti-Zionist and all my posts reflect that. … I have been watching people back home living every single day with a violent oppressive boot on their neck that I pay for with my tax money,” Matari told the outlet. “Every day for the last 100 years has been 7 October for Palestinians.”

LAPL spokesperson Lauren Skinner told the LA Public Press earlier this year that Matari’s posts did not align with the library’s core values and said her books were still available at the library.

Murad told the outlet earlier this year that to cancel the virtual discussion sends to children the message that, “‘Oh, I heard those are terrorist people … those are antisemitic people. I’m not going to get their book … [or] invite them to my school.'”