When Susan Blumberg-Kason was researching a book about Golda Meir’s Milwaukee childhood, her literary agent abruptly cut ties. The explanation was brief and echoed what other Jewish writers were hearing: “We can no longer champion your career,” Blumberg-Kason told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the war that followed, Jewish authors across the United States, Australia, Canada and Israel say they are facing a chilling climate in publishing — from viral blacklists and boycotts to canceled events and quiet professional distancing. While publishing has always been competitive, many writers report that their Jewish identity or perceived support for Israel has made them targets for marginalization.
According to Jewish News Syndicate, some bookstores and publications have pulled events or ads tied to Jewish or pro-Israel voices, including works by Bernard-Henri Lévy and Moshe Kasher.
Blumberg-Kason told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it “wasn’t just that she dropped me. It was that suddenly several of us were hearing the exact same sentence. It felt coordinated. It felt like something had shifted under our feet.”
In May 2024, a Google spreadsheet titled “Is your fav author a Zionist?” went viral, urging readers not to “give them any money” or “promote their work on any social platforms” if authors were categorized as “Pro-Israel/Zionist.” Novelist Talia Carner, placed firmly in the “yes” column, said, “The antisemitism is eating me,” according to The Times of Israel. The Jewish Book Council’s CEO, Naomi Firestone-Teeter, called the list “truly chilling,” while the group’s president Elisa Spungen Bildner warned it evoked “shades of the 1930s.”
The pressure has extended beyond social media. In Australia, a petition circulated in 2024 advocating for the Adelaide festival to rescind an invitation to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who is Jewish, over a column he wrote about the Middle East. The board rejected the petition, citing its “international reputation for supporting artistic freedom of expression,” reported The Guardian. Yet the controversy underscored how literary programming has become a flashpoint in broader political battles. In the United States, guest essays and open letters have described what one New York Times opinion writer, James Kirchick, called “a litmus test” in parts of the literary world that effectively excludes Jews “from full participation unless they denounce Israel.” Kirchick said that “To compel them to express support or disapproval for a cause is one of the cruelest things a society can do to writers, whose role is to tell society what they believe, regardless of how popular the message may be.”
Jewish authors say the impact is often subtle but pervasive: lost agents, declined editorial interest, review-bombing campaigns and canceled events. Zibby Owens, founder of Zibby Media, said, “Antisemitism in the publishing industry has been well-documented since 10/7 and has been pervasive from festivals and bookstores to agents and publishers,” according to Aish.com. She added, “My own books have been targeted on Goodreads and I’ve been called a ‘Zionist racist’ … But I’m just one of the many, many Jewish authors in this situation. This is the world for us right now.”
In response, Jewish institutions are stepping in as many writers also create alternative spaces of their own — from self-publishing to launching independent outlets and conferences, including initiatives connected to 70 Faces Media, a non-profit, Jewish media organization.
The UJA-Federation of New York has awarded $300,000 in grants to bolster Jewish literary life, while the Jewish Book Council has distributed 100 Jewish book kits across New York City to increase visibility, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Jewish writers were being dropped, disinvited, and sidelined,” said Rina Cohen of UJA. CEO Eric S. Goldstein added that “Efforts to marginalize Jewish voices in culture and the arts must be met by even greater efforts to ensure they’re heard.”
UJA grants have supported the Jewish Book Council, including other organizations like the Jewish Life Foundation and 70 Faces Media, parent organization of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. In Oct. 2025, 70 Faces Media hosted a one-day Jewish authors’ summit offering practical tools and digital strategy training, while the Jewish Life Foundation launched “The People of the Book with Josh Radnor,” a TV and podcast series spotlighting Jewish authors and conversations about identity and culture.
“We wield the written word to articulate our truth. Our purpose is to reveal our unique perspectives, to tell stories, even when parts of the world would rather not listen,” wrote Valeria Sol Groisman for the Jewish Book Council’s “Witnessing” series.
“We want authors to know we’ve got you on the other side,” said Jewish Book Council CEO Firestone-Teeter, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Your job is to keep writing.”
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“Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China,” is a work of nonfiction about a Jewish woman in Asia, as Word War II approached, The author is Susan Blumberg-Kason, who was researching a book about Golda Meir’s Milwaukee childhood when she ran into apparent antisemitic obstacles.
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“Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature,” is by Zibby Owens, a Jewish author who has noted the rise in antisemitism and its impact on publishing.
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