P is for Palestine, But B is for Bund

Last month some Upper West Side parents lost their shit over the appearance of a children’s alphabet book called P is for Palestine, in their local book store. Evidence that it’s never too early to indoctrinate children into nationalistic political ideologies, the book was created by a group of Iranian expats who apparently couldn’t be bothered with producing an I is for Iran book. When it appeared on the shelves of Book Culture on heavily Jewish Upper West Side, a small number of Jewish parents flipped out over the possibility that their children might learn that there is a place some people call Palestine. They demanded an apology, which they squeezed out of a struggling independent bookstore.

Though Book Culture apologized, they are still carrying the alphabet book. But now, supporters on the Palestinian side of the equation have upped the ante and are boycotting the shop because, they claimed, there was no need to apologize for selling it in the first place. Apparently, there’s just no pleasing anyone on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

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