Palestine Legal and Allies Demand LA Public Library Reinstate Palestine Event

The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) violated the constitutional rights of authors Jenan Matari and Nora Lester Murad — and the rights of community members who lost the opportunity to hear from the authors — when it cancelled their event at the library in December, Palestine Legal wrote in a letter to the library last week.

The letter, sent on behalf of Palestine Legal and 18 other organizations ranging from student and faculty groups to writers’ and publishers’ collectives, demands that the library reinstate the event, issue a public apology to the authors, and enact policies to prevent cancelations like this in the future.

In August 2025, young volunteers who plan library events as part of the LAPL Central Library’s Teen’Scape teen council voted to organize programming highlighting Palestinian voices. In October 2025, LAPL invited Jenan Matari, an award-winning Palestinian storyteller and author of the children’s book, Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden, and Nora Lester Murad, a Jewish author, educator, activist, and author of the young adult novel, Ida in the Middle, to speak at an event marking Read Palestine Week. Days before the event, the library abruptly canceled without any explanation to the authors.

When questioned by The LA Reporter, the library issued a statement saying the cancellation was an effort to allocate library resources and space “in a manner consistent with our mission, city standards, and our commitment to city residents, including those who may carry different perspectives.” The city librarian reportedly later told staff in an email that the library had to remain nonpartisan and apolitical and that unspecified social media posts by Matari related to October 7, 2023, did not “align with [the library’s] core values, including welcoming everyone and affirming that all people have dignity and deserve respect.”

On December 19, over 100 LAPL staff signed onto a letter demanding an apology to the Teen’Scape teen council, authors, staff and the public, support for Teen’Scape to organize another program highlighting Palestinian voices, fair treatment for events that relate to Palestine and better communication and support for staff.  

In its contract with the authors, the library committed to holding a conflict resolution meeting within two weeks if there were a conflict between the library and the authors. Despite repeated demands from the authors, no such meeting was scheduled.

The National Coalition Against Censorship, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and the Authors Guild have all urged the library to reschedule the event.

Read our letter to LAPL here.

Take action by telling LAPL not to censor Palestinians.