UKLFI have asked Amazon to withdraw a children’s book, which appears to support terrorism, is antisemitic, and incites racial hatred.

The book, “Zain & Mima Stand For Palestine”, is aimed at very young children, and teaches them shocking anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda, as well as encouraging them to participate in political activities.

1. The book demonises “Zionists”, and since most Jews and Israelis are Zionists, the book also demonises Jews and Israelis.

2. It teaches that Zionism is “an unfair plan” invented by an evil-looking Theodore Herzl, who wanted to “kick out everyone who was not a Zionist”.

3. The book teaches that Israel is an unjust state. Talking about the history of Israel it says: “When the Zionists arrived they worked hard to create “Israel” the unjust Jewish only state.” And yet Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, in which a substantial Arab minority has democratic rights.

4. When talking about the history of Israel, the book does not mention the years of Arab terrorist attacks and massacres against Jews. Instead it says “The Palestinians didn’t want the Jews to face any harm. But Zionists were taking their land and that caused alarm.”

5. The book says. “Until this day Zionists are stealing peoples’ homes. And Palestine shrinks while Israel grows.” This inflammatory statement incites children to hate Jews and Israelis.

6. The book shows the misleading series of maps of “shrinking” Palestine. This article from HonestReporting and video from J-TV show why these maps are so deceptive:

https://honestreporting.com/debunked-those-maps-of-palestinian-land-loss-are-misleading-heres-why/ 

7. The book compares Israelis to Nazis – a classic antisemitic trope, according to the IHRA definition of antisemitism. The text of the book is as follows: “The sad thing is the cruelty is being repeated by Zionists treating Palestinians the same unfair way they were treated”. The illustration shows a Nazi swastika , and an Israeli flag on the same page, implying that Jews are like Nazis. Comparing Jews to Nazis is a form of Holocaust trivialization because it minimizes the scope of Nazi crimes.

8. This book aims to politicise children, and teaches them to march against Zionism, and against the State of Israel. The text says “This is why these people stood up shouting today “Free, Free Palestine! They want Zionism to go away” Wanting Zionism to go away, as the book is advocating, means in effect wanting the end of the State of Israel. Another page says: “We March and we Shout and make our demands, telling the whole world to stop Zionists from stealing Palestinian land!” ]

9. The book also teaches children to boycott Israeli goods and to support the BDS movement. The text says: “Before we buy anything we must check out a movement called BDS. It gives us an important list of the companies that support Zionists”.

The book is written by Eman Kourtam, an American of Egyptian origin, and is not only sold but also printed by Amazon in Great Britain.

Caroline Turner, Director of UKLFI commented: “This book attempts to brainwash children into hating Israelis, spreads anti-Israel propaganda, and teaches children vile antisemitic tropes. At this time of rising antisemitism, it is shocking that this book is being sold.  It is very dangerous, and I hope Amazon and whoever else sells it will withdraw it from sale as soon as possible.

It displays material that is abusive and insulting to Zionists, Jews and Israelis, and is likely to stir up racial hatred. Sellers of this book in the UK may be in breach of Section 18 of the Public Order Act 1986  – the offence of stirring up racial hatred.”

UKLFI wrote to Amazon on Friday 25 November, pointing out the various ways in which the book breached the law, and asking them to withdraw the book. A spokesman for Amazon has  responded: “We’re taking this very seriously and I will ensure the right teams look into this product.” However, the book continues to be sold by Amazon, as at 5 December 2023.