An open letter to the international literary world on the massacre in Gaza from an editor in Israel
Bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza at al-Shifa Hospital on 2 September 2025
Uriel Kon writes in The Literary Hub on 2 September 2025:
In a brief statement on social networks last month, the Tel Aviv publishing house I have run for over a decade announced that all future books would carry the following message on their back cover: “Nine Lives Publishing declares its opposition to the murder of innocent people in Gaza and calls for an immediate ceasefire and the return of the hostages.”
It is a brief message, but ambitious in its intent: on the basis of this common denominator, we seek the support and contributions of our publishing colleagues and all cultural, academic, artistic and social institutions—everyone involved in producing knowledge and culture in Israel—in condemning Israel’s war crimes, committed in the name of its citizens and with their tacit consent.
Our call to action attracted some attention in the local media. As literary publishing is an act of love and a means of opening a window of communication through art, we hoped that our message would have an effect beyond the specific position of our publishing house. Absurdly, our call, an active exercise of our right to freedom of expression, was met with mockery, boycotts, and negation; violence on the part of our fellow citizens and deafening silence from our colleagues. Not having received any support from our fellow professionals thus far, we appeal to the international community—editors, writers, cultural creatives, every person or institution involved in some way in our field—for support and solidarity.
Casting my eye over the state of Israel today, allow me to share some of my impressions as a Jewish-Argentinian immigrant who has loved this country since he was a boy but who has also been a witness to the complete transformation of its society. In Israel it is frowned upon to criticize the nation, especially in front of outsiders. In times of war, it is simply forbidden to say anything that violates the general consensus—and the consensus regarding the war is sacred and immutable. The individual is regarded as inseparable from the omnipresent state, a subordinate position which most seem to gladly embrace. With military objectives as the ultimate goal, the individual has been relegated to the bottom rung of Israeli society.
Most Israelis see war as the only option. Signs of humanity and alternate ideas, however constructive, are regarded as naïve; the only “serious,” adult choice is the military one.Israeli citizens during wartime have no choice but to regard themselves as victims, irrespective of what’s actually happening on the ground. After the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, widespread and indiscriminate revenge was presented as the only alternative. When that turned into mass annihilation, the most frequent Israeli excuse was the population’s state of shock, trauma, exhaustion and bewilderment, the sensation of being under threat from outsiders and in imminent danger. Survival is presented as a never-ending war to ensure the country’s future existence; there is no alternative.
Most Israelis see war as the only option. Signs of humanity and alternate ideas, however constructive, are regarded as naïve; the only “serious,” adult choice is the military one.