THE TIMES OF ISRAEL—Marking the centennial of one of the Jewish Book Council’s foundational programs, ‘Nu Reads’ delivers books bimonthly with aim to boost writers and send a message to publishers.
Last year, a list circulated online targeting “Zionist” authors for a boycott. Dozens of blacklisted writers, nearly all Jews, had been condemned for infractions as slight as expressing concern for Jewish friends after the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of Israel.
The blacklist titled “Is your fav author a Zionist?” came amid a series of other incidents against Jewish authors, some before the start of the war, that together marked a turning point for antisemitism in the publishing industry, said Naomi Firestone-Teeter, the CEO of Jewish Book Council, a New York-based group that supports Jewish literature.
“It was one thing after another. And it was like, ‘Okay, this is bad. This is different. This is different this time,’” Firestone-Teeter said. The council has launched a series of initiatives to push back against that surge in antisemitism. Its latest, a program called Nu Reads that started in October, aims to bolster Jewish writers, send a message to the publishing industry that Jewish books are valued, and create a community around their work.
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