Our people don’t ban books

If Israel wants to call itself “the only democracy in the Middle East™,” then it must act like one. Democracy is not just a slogan; it is a practice, a discipline, a commitment to allowing a multitude of voices—even those that challenge us, even those that unsettle us, even those we wish we could silence.

I know what it is to live in a world that hates Jews. Believe me, I know. I feel it in my bones. I have seen it in the eyes of strangers, in the words of cowards hiding behind screens, in the history that courses through my blood.

And this knowledge has only deepened my connection to my Jewish identity and my love of Israel. I will not let their hatred dictate who I am.

The Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem – raised by police last night – sells books in English. Everyone I know who goes there happens to be Jewish. This is not a place indoctrinating Palestinian youth; that is not its audience. Yes, there are books on those shelves that make me deeply uncomfortable. Some infuriate me. Some break my heart. And yet, in that very same bookshop, I also find solace—books by Amos Oz, Yossi Klein Halevi, Gershon Baskin. And yes, my own book.

We are all Zionist writers.

And believe me, there are Palestinians who despise what we write, who see our words as an affront to their very identity. Just as there are Jews who see their books as a betrayal of ours.

I know there are many in the Palestinian community who wish us dead. I know there are those on the far left who would cheer them on. And yes, those on the far right, too. But I also know this: we do not strengthen our cause by becoming the thing we fear. Our people should not be in the business of banning books. We should not be arresting booksellers unless they are explicitly calling for violence, unless they are openly lusting for Jewish blood.

Mahmoud Muna is not.

I know this man. He does not share many of my beliefs. And yet, he carried my book. I do not share all of his beliefs. And yet, I call him my friend.

If Israel truly wants to be a light unto the nations, then we had better act like it.