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What the New York Times Left Out of Its Jerusalem Bookstore Story
Supporters visit an Educational Bookshop, after Israeli police raided two Educational Bookshops and made arrests, in East Jerusalem, Feb. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
“Israeli Police Raid Palestinian Bookshops, Another Step in Tightened Restrictions,” is the headline over a New York Times news article.
The headline is itself a fine example of how the Times, instead of just reporting the news, pushes its own interpretive framework onto a story. The risk with that is that sometimes the interpretive framework is tendentious, or, at best, highly selective.
In this case, the Times spins the arrest as evidence of “how Israel is tightening restrictions on free speech and cultural activities for Palestinians across the country.” You wouldn’t know it from reading the Times article, but the event could just as easily and accurately be portrayed as evidence of how even Jerusalem Arabs who appear to be mainstream are involved in glorifying terrorists.
The Times seems to be ridiculing the idea that “books being sold there — including a children’s coloring book — could incite violence.” It mentions a police statement about “a children’s coloring book titled From the Jordan to the Sea,” noting, “The slogan ‘from the river to the sea’ has long been a rallying cry for Palestinian nationalism and is usually interpreted by Israelis as a denial of their country’s right to exist.”
The South African Jewish Report has an account from June 2024 of the same book being removed from shelves of South Africa’s biggest bookstore chain after an outcry.
It reports that “The color-by-number book, which is aimed at children between ages six and 10, says that it ‘introduces young readers to the key concepts driving and sustaining Palestinian resistance.’ This includes a page dedicated to the concept of intifada, which encompasses two violent Palestinian uprisings in which about 1,000 Israelis were killed by suicide bombings in the early 2000s.”
According to the South African Jewish Report, “The book then goes on to tell children that people who die for the Palestinians are ‘martyrs — heroes who have a special place in Palestinian society.’ Children can then color in a picture of the late academic, Refaat Alareer, who described all Jews as ‘evil.’ In a BBC interview, he described the Oct. 7 attack as ‘legitimate and moral.’ He compared the attack to the Warsaw ghetto uprising and accused Israel of fabricating evidence of sexual assault by Hamas on Oct. 7.”
Children “are also given a picture of ‘protest icon’ Ahed Tamimi, who has been arrested twice by Israel, the second time when she posted on social media in November 2023, ‘Come on settlers, we’ll slaughter you. What Hitler did to you was a joke. We’ll drink your blood and eat your skulls.’”
For comparison’s sake, imagine if, after the Boston Marathon bombing, Boston police had found a Muslim-owned bookstore with a coloring book encouraging children to color in a picture of the “martyr” bomber. Or imagine if, after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, New York Police found a Saudi or Afghan-owned bookstore in Brooklyn or New Jersey encouraging children to color in a picture of Osama Bin Laden or the “martyrs” who perpetrated the attack on the World Trade Center. Or imagine if, heaven forbid, the bookstore owner was a Trump-supporting conservative Christian or Jew selling coloring books glorifying as heroic martyrs perpetrators of violent attacks on news organizations, such as the one on the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland.
Reasonable people could debate whether arresting the bookstore owner would be the right move, but surely at least some journalistic curiosity about why a bookstore owner would be promoting violent extremism would be warranted, alongside any alarm about “tightened restrictions on free speech.”
The Times article online has two corrections now appended:
Corrections were made on Feb. 10, 2025
An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the relationship of the two men who were arrested at the Educational Bookshops. They are relatives, but not brothers.
An earlier version of a photo caption misstated which man was which, based on incorrect information from the news agency. Mahmood is seated in court at left and Ahmed is on the right.
It’s easy enough for the Times to correct those details.
On the more basic issue of whether the underlying story fits a narrative of “restrictions on free speech” or one of “Jerusalem Arabs glorifying terrorists,” Times readers may, alas, have to wait somewhat longer for a correction.
Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.
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Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran and the United States have agreed to continue nuclear talks next week, both sides said on Saturday, though Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi voiced “extreme cautious” about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff.
US President Donald Trump has signaled confidence in clinching a new pact with the Islamic Republic that would block Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a third round of the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators for around six hours, a week after a second round in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
“The negotiations are extremely serious and technical… there are still differences, both on major issues and on details,” Araqchi told Iranian state TV.
“There is seriousness and determination on both sides… However, our optimism about success of the talks remains extremely cautious.”
A senior US administration official described the talks as positive and productive, adding that both sides agreed to meet again in Europe “soon.”
“There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the official added.
Earlier Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi had said talks would continue next week, with another “high-level meeting” provisionally scheduled for May 3. Araqchi said Oman would announce the venue.
Ahead of the lead negotiators’ meeting, expert-level indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.
“The presence of experts was beneficial … we will return to our capitals for further reviews to see how disagreements can be reduced,” Araqchi said.
An Iranian official, briefed about the talks, told Reuters earlier that the expert-level negotiations were “difficult, complicated and serious.”
The only aim of these talks, Araqchi said, was “to build confidence about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.”
Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” but he repeated a threat of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Shortly after Araqchi and Witkoff began their latest indirect talks on Saturday, Iranian state media reported a massive explosion at the country’s Shahid Rajaee port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.
MAXIMUM PRESSURE
While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Since 2019, Iran has breached the pact’s nuclear curbs including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
Moreover, European states have suggested to US negotiators that a comprehensive deal should include limits preventing Iran from acquiring or finalizing the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, several European diplomats said.
Tehran insists its defense capabilities like its missile program are not negotiable.
An Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday that Tehran sees its missile program as a bigger obstacle in the talks.
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Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organization said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.
Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.
He was named PLO vice president after the organization’s executive committee approved his nomination by Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.
Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the West Bank, has been a priority for the United States and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.
The United States has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.
CALL FOR HAMAS TO DISARM
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas, which follows a militant Islamist ideology, has controlled Gaza since 2007 when it defeated the PA in a brief civil war after winning an election the previous year. It also has a large presence in the West Bank.
At a meeting of the PLO’s Central Council on Wednesday and Thursday that approved the position of vice president without naming an appointee, Abbas made his clearest ever call for Hamas to completely disarm and hand its weapons – and responsibility for governing in Gaza – to the PA.
Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent state and increasing Israeli military incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.
The body has been controlled by Fatah since it was formed in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and it last held parliamentary elections in 2005.
Sheikh, who was imprisoned by Israel for his activities opposing the occupation during the period 1978-89, has worked as the PA’s main contact liaising with the Israeli government under Abbas and been his envoy on visits to world powers.
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
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