A Sydney public library removes a book critical of Israel, Adam Johnson’s How to Sell a Genocide, from its shelves. The Waverley Library at Bondi Junction takes the title down after receiving a complaint reported to be made by a survivor of the Bondi beach terror attack. The removal is linked to the broader controversy around depictions of the Israel-Gaza war and the place of such material in public collections.
The outlets report that Johnson has previously argued that his work reflects difficult truths and that “reality is often upsetting.” The Guardian also notes that a Palestinian group says libraries should keep “challenging” books rather than exclude them. The Independent and The Guardian describe the same incident and focus on the removal process and the reported identity or role of the complainant, while providing limited additional detail about the council’s formal reasoning.
