A Palestinian bookstore promoting anti-Jewish, anti-Israel narratives opened on Feb. 21 in Los Angeles at Holy Ground, a community gathering space on West Adams Boulevard.
An online flier promoting the launch event stated that Watermelon Books will ultimately be home to 1,000-plus books on Palestine, along with author talks, readings, community education and cultural programming.
“Preserving culture, memory and community is an important act of resistance,” the website stated.
The bookstore “builds on the success of the Palestinian-led Watermelon Books in Amman, Jordan,” according to the store. “This is the next chapter—bringing that vision to the United States and expanding an international cultural project grounded in Palestinian life, history and imagination.”
Programming for the store is already planned. On Feb. 27, the store is scheduled to host a conversation titled “Literature During Genocide” with novelists Randa Jarrar and Nancy Krikorian.
“A Palestinian bookstore opened yesterday in Los Angeles, describing itself as a ‘cultural act of resistance,’” the Combat Antisemitism Movement wrote, noting that “its featured titles are books denying the existence of the Jewish people and promoting radical anti-Israel narratives erasing Jewish history, identity and legitimacy.”
Titles the bookstore currently carries include “The Invention of the Jewish People” by Shlomo Sand and “Visualizing Palestine: A Chronicle of Colonialism and the Struggle for Liberation.”
