FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 16, 2021
The Working Group Against Jew-Hatred (AJH) Applauds Indigo Books for Removing Controversial Material
TORONTO, ON - Recently, Daniel Koren, Executive Director of Hasbara Fellowships Canada,
was shocked to discover that a children’s book that erased Israel from the map was available
through retailer Indigo Books.
The book Amazing Women of the Middle East, written by Tarnowska Wafa, prides itself on being “a superb collection of stories about incredible women from the Middle East.” While the book showcases stories of accomplished women from the Middle East region (it appears that no Jewish women are included), it also showcases a map including every modern Middle Eastern state - yet Israel is excluded.
Failure to recognize the Jewish State of Israel is not only geographically inaccurate, but plays into an antisemitic trope of the Jews as a perpetually wandering people with no indigenous homeland. Tarnowska Wafa by all appearances is attempting to erase the very existence of the indigenous Jewish people of the Middle East.
We want to thank Heather Reisman, founder of Indigo Books, for acting swiftly to remove this hurtful message embedded in a children's book from their inventory.
The Working Group AJH would like to take this opportunity to remind Ontarians that the Governments of Canada and Ontario have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
We encourage all literature providers to take the aforementioned definition under consideration when choosing texts to share with others, particularly materials produced for children. The promotion of misinformation and hatred towards anyone is antithetical to the spirit of multiculturalism in Canada.
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For more information, please contact: Becky Battat | becky.battat@pc.ola.org | 905-731-8462
About the Working Group Against Jew-Hatred (AJH)
The Working Group Against Jew-Hatred (AJH) is a group of grassroot organizations concerned
with the rise of antisemitism in Ontario.
Our Members:
