The plethora of instances of antisemitism in the publishing world, circulating on the Internet and in conversations among book lovers today, many of which will be reported on elsewhere in this edition of The Jerusalem Report, are nearly enough to make one forget that the reigning stereotype in the media is still that Jews control it.
For me, it is true: I am Israeli and have only worked with explicitly Jewish publications.
Upon being asked to write a piece about antisemitism in the literary world, I immediately contacted Erika Dreifus and Howard Lovy, two Jewish writers who meticulously document such instances.
Much like violent antisemitic attacks, antisemitism in the publishing industry long predates October 7.
“I would say I’ve been really following all of this for about 20 years,” said Dreifus. “[Around] the Second Lebanon War, I was starting to see more public language and rhetoric and social media posts by people in the literary community, including leaders of literary organizations, that really started to take me aback at that point. Since October 7, it became so much more pervasive, visible, and virulent,” she added.
Lovy isn’t surprised by the status quo either, even disregarding the years of disinterest in platforming Zionist Jews. The publishing world is an institution, and institutions are naturally conservative.
“They don’t want any kind of controversy, they don’t want protests, they don’t want things canceled,” he said. “Whether that reflects what readers and book buyers actually feel, I don’t know, but the conventional wisdom is that this isn’t the right time for Jewish voices.”
Even if that belief is held by the publishing industry, the public doesn’t necessarily hold it as well.
Eli Sharabi’s memoir, Hostage, an explicitly Jewish, Zionist, pro-Israel voice, spent three weeks on the New York Times’ bestseller list and earned a spot on Time magazine’s “100 Must-Read Books of 2025.” Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s memoir about the kidnapping and murder of her son, Hersh, also made it to the top of that list.
But as Lovy pointed out, “It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Jewish authors can’t prove themselves if they aren’t given a chance, and the industry is too wary to let them try.
Defending voices
The Jewish Book Council is working hard to combat this. Following October 7, JBC launched a hotline to track antisemitism in the publishing industry. With over 400 reports lodged, its analysis is still ongoing, but it can currently state that social media comprises the largest share of reported incidents.
Beyond the hotline, JBC is working to promote books by Jewish authors with its bimonthly book subscription series, Nu Reads.
“[It is] tremendously popular with publishers,” CEO Naomi Firestone-Teeter told the Report. “In just over six months since our launch, Nu Reads has gained nearly 2,100 subscribers.
“A traditionally published book in the US typically sells about 3,000 copies over its entire lifetime,” she said. “That level of distribution can be one meaningful contributor to a title’s overall sales and momentum toward national bestseller lists. We are thrilled with this momentum and look forward to building on it.”
Not everyone agrees on whom the literary world is failing.
In April 2026, a group of 42 Jewish writers published an open letter on Literary Hub accusing the organization of narrowing its vision to a “Zionist approach to Jewish culture” and that “Israeli voices are being amplified.”
The signatories called on JBC to create more space for anti-Zionist Jewish voices.
In response, Firestone-Teeter said she did not dismiss their claims.
“The open letter to the Jewish Book Council reflects both the depth of feeling in this moment and the diversity of thought within our community,” she said.
“Our role is not, and never will be, to enforce consensus,” she continued. “It is to ensure that a wide range of Jewish voices and stories can be written, published, discussed, and debated. The Jewish Book Council takes the perspectives of all Jewish writers seriously.”
Lovy, however, did. “The token anti-Israel Jewish authors are being trotted out by the media all the time. The marginalized ones are the ones facing boycotts, calls not being returned, cancellations of their contracts,” he said.
“That’s what the Jewish Book Council is focusing on, and rightly so,” he asserted.
Dreifus agrees.
“When I see a collective like that, and I see the flaws in what they’re saying and arguing for, there’s an extra twist of the knife, so to speak, that it’s coming from within the house,” she said.
And what about outside the house?
Dreifus manages a shared Google Doc titled “Writers, Beware,” in which she documents mainstream publications’ various anti-Zionist and antisemitic pieces. Is it worth it for Jews to even bother publishing with the likes of these?
Writer’s choice
Dreifus cited Rabbi Diana Fersko’s book We Need to Talk About Antisemitism and the three ways she recommends to fight antisemitism.
“One is to stay and fight. Another is to leave and rebuild our own institutions. The third is – do nothing,” Dreifus said. “For me, ‘do nothing’ was not really an option… For a very long time, I was trying to stay and fight. [I] gradually [realized] – I’m very tired of fighting.”
She is not alone. Another prominent Jewish voice in publishing declined to comment at all, citing fatigue at the Sisyphean task of battling antisemitism in the publishing world.
“I’m tired of trying to educate all the time, and then have the same problems come up again and again,” she said. “I don’t have a problem spending more and more of my time on the leave and rebuild side.
“I’m really excited about new outlets for Jewish writing and new organizations that are doing things for Jewish writers… I just want to focus on the work and the writing,” she continued. “To try to amplify other Jewish writers and the stories and the books that I really admire.”
Firestone-Teeter noted, “That’s why there’s an institution like the Jewish Book Council. There’s always going to be a Jewish Book Council that’s going to continue this work. We are not going to have a dip in our efforts to manage this complicated and ongoing issue in our space.
“Our job is to make sure there are spaces in the mainstream where we’re visible and present and a support mechanism, and in the Jewish spaces as well,” she said. “Wherever authors want to be showing up and wherever they feel most comfortable, there’s a space for them.”
I heard the concerns from Jewish authors, and I acknowledged the fatigue, and I’m grateful for the work JBC is doing to support Jewish writers.
But I am, as I said, Israeli, and I have only published with Jewish publications. I am not bothered by the idea of success being attainable mostly among the Jewish readership and groups.
Lovy also said he was content to stay in a Jewish space.
“If you’re not going to hire me here, I’m going to start my own publishing house, my own magazine. It happened in all professions. Eventually, these things became so successful that they became mainstream,” he said.
The People of the Book are good, reliable company for writers to keep.■
Lior Zoë Perets is an Israeli-American writer whose work has been published in the literary magazine Verklempt! and on the digital platform Lehrhaus. She is the recipient of the Bar Sagi Prize for fiction, has an MA in creative writing from Bar-Ilan University, works as a paralegal, and serves in the IDF reserves.