How a Virginia library is happily educating the next generation of Jew haters 

A public library in Falls Church, Virginia, has shifted a pro-Palestinian alphabet book to a new spot within its children’s section after a staff review prompted by widespread complaints about its content.

Library Director Megan Dotzler informed the Library Board of Trustees last week that the book, originally placed in the picture book section, was moved to children’s nonfiction due to its “complex topics that will require adult explanations for some children.” The 2018 book, authored by Golbarg Bashi with illustrations by Golrokh Nafisi, is marketed on Amazon.com as the “world’s first-ever English-language ABC story book about Palestine,” using “simple rhythmic rhyme with stunning illustrations” to highlight Palestinian culture, geography, and resilience as an educational tool for kids.

Earlier this year, a local resident flagged a passage about “Intifada,” which reads: “Intifada is Arabic for rising up / For what is right, if you’re a kid or a grownup.”

That's not really what intifada means though. Essentially “intifada” refers to a call to violence against Israel. Liyam Chitayat, a Jewish MIT student who criticized pro-Palestinian campus protests in 2023, described it as “the name of acts of bombing and killing civilians in Israel” within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Similarly, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., stated during a 2023 House committee hearing on campus antisemitism that the term, in this context, signifies “violent armed resistance against the state of Israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of Jews.”

Dotzler raised the initial complaint at a February 5 Board of Trustees meeting, noting that “one of the letters is for a term that is problematic.” Following library policy, a review was launched to determine whether the book should be removed or relocated.

The single complaint snowballed into 4,500 emailed objections to the city, Dotzler revealed at last week’s board meeting. Most accused the book of promoting antisemitism and demanded its removal, though many came from outside Falls Church. She also noted that 200 emails defended the book.

After review, the staff opted to move it to the children’s nonfiction section rather than remove it entirely, concluding it didn’t breach library standards sufficiently to warrant a ban. Dotzler emphasized that library policy “does not endorse any particular views expressed in the materials it selects.” She did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

NY Post contributed to this article.