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Antisemitic, anti-American political cartoon book lands on kids table at Brooklyn library

A Brooklyn mom was horrified to find a book of antisemitic and anti-American political cartoons as part of a kids display on world cultures at a Bed-Stuy library this week.

“A Child of Palestine,” by Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali, is filled with disturbing Jewish stereotypes and offensive images — including Jesus Christ on a cross kicking an Israel soldier.

The parent found it on a table at the Macon branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on Tuesday, along with titles like “The Rough Guide to the 100 Best Places in the USA” and books on Tanzania, Ecuador and Samoa.

“A Child in Palestine” contains the political cartoons of Naji al-Ali, known as “the Palestinian Malcolm X.” J.C. Rice
One of the cartoons depicted Jesus Christ kicking an Israeli soldier. J.C. Rice
Another cartoon depicted a woman abused and killed during the Sabra and Shatila massacres of the 1980s. J.C. Rice

“A Child in Palestine,” which BPL categorizes as an adult read on its website, includes depictions of Jewish soldiers with large noses, a dead woman who had been murdered and abused being covered with a keffiyeh scarf, and an American soldier strangling an Arab man.

The book follows a child named Handala who is pictured in the cartoons witnessing the different events depicted, and who has since become a symbol of Palestinian defiance. Al-Ali has been dubbed the “Palestinian Malcolm X.”

“The fact that it is on display on a children’s table alongside books on ‘world culture’ is beyond belief,” the Brooklyn mom said.

“I was so appalled at this being picked up by a child and read as facts about Israel and the US,” she added.

“The fact that it’s in the library means that it could be in classrooms.”

Brooklyn Public Library says the book chronicles “the Israeli occupation, the corruption of the regimes in the region, and the plight of the Palestinian people.” J.C. Rice
Al-Ali drew over 40,000 cartoons, which often provided critical commentaries on Palestinian and Arab politics. J.C. Rice
One of al-Ali’s cartoons depicted Henry Kissinger, who was US Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. J.C. Rice

The book was since taken out of the library and hasn’t been returned to the display.

The library did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Post.

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