Palestinian American writers Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari have withdrawn their planned children's book, "Displacement and the Palestinian American Story," from Penguin Random House due to disagreements over editorial content related to Hamas' October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. Instead, the authors intend to publish the book with another publisher in 2027.
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Originally set for release in September as part of Random House Children’s Books’ "Race to the Truth" series, aimed at readers aged 10 to 13, the book faced conflict after editors included language stating that Hamas' actions violated international law, which the authors argued conflicted with their portrayal of Palestinian resistance. They contended that these changes were made without their consent.
Human Rights Watch has stated that Hamas-led armed groups committed war crimes during the attacks, including the deliberate targeting of civilians. The publisher also questioned descriptions of Jewish identity in relation to armed Zionist groups during the 1948 conflict, when roughly 700,000 Palestinians were displaced.
Random House defended its editing, asserting that the modifications were meant to help younger readers understand complex historical narratives. They also proposed adding a publisher’s note and raising the target age for the book.
Despite this, Hadid and Matari opted for a partnership with Interlink Books, a Palestinian-owned publisher. Following this incident, Saira Rao, a creator of the "Race to the Truth" series, announced she would cease future collaborations with Random House, although the publisher confirmed plans for future installments in the series.