Zibby says, \u201cAntisemitism in the publishing industry has been well-documented since 10\/7 and has been pervasive from festivals and bookstores to agents and publishers. Personally, I\u2019ve been told directly that select authors wouldn\u2019t come on my podcast and certain bookstores wouldn\u2019t stock the books I publish due to my public support of Israel and the Jewish people. My own books have been targeted on GoodReads<\/a> and I\u2019ve been called a \u2018Zionist racist\u2019 among many other slights. But I\u2019m just one of the many, many Jewish authors in this situation. This is the world for us right now.\u201d<\/p>\n My own books have been targeted on GoodReads and I\u2019ve been called a \u2018Zionist racist.\u2019 But I\u2019m just one of the many, many Jewish authors in this situation.<\/p>\n The injustice is clear, but the question remains:\u00a0How do we choose to respond?<\/p>\n In Zibby\u2019s case, her response was to conceive and edit the anthology\u00a0On Being Jewish Now<\/a>, a collection of essays describing what it feels like to be Jewish in this moment in time. But Zibby\u2019s not alone\u201475 authors and advocates joined her in this effort, each contributing their voice to the cause. (The book became a\u00a0USA Today\u00a0Bestseller, and all profits are donated to Artists Against Antisemitism.)<\/p>\n This is just one example of Jewish authors standing together in solidarity against the hate. Zibby<\/a> explains, \u201cThe intense targeting of us as a group has bonded us with each other and with the Jewish community. There\u2019s a support infrastructure across community centers, synagogues, on social media and more.\u201d<\/p>\n When hate tries to tear us down, themes of Jewish resilience prevail. Alyssa Rosenheck and Rachel Caplin are just two of the authors who stood their ground and refused to abandon their identity in the face of adversity. Here are their stories.<\/p>\n Alyssa\u2019s Story<\/p>\n Alyssa Rosenheck<\/a>\u00a0is a bestselling author, speaker, and one of Architectural Digest\u2019s Top 50 Interior and Architectural Photographers in the United States. Her debut book,\u00a0The New Southern Style<\/a>\u00a0(Abrams, 2020), reframed creativity as a vehicle for resilience, courage, and connection\u2014showing how art can humanize our differences and remind us of our shared humanity.<\/p>\n In 2022, Alyssa began developing her second book (a non-fiction concept centered around creativity), working with an editor at a well-known publishing company for almost a year.<\/p>\n After multiple iterations of fine-tuning directly with the editor, Alyssa landed on a version that all parties were excited about. \u201cThere was initial buzz, there was great positive feedback\u2026it was very well-received. I even heard the words, \u2018You knocked it out of the park,\u2019\u201d Alyssa recalls. Her book proposal was officially submitted to the publisher at the end of September 2023.<\/p>\n October 7th was eleven days later. \u201cWithout hesitation, I shifted my content,\u201d Alyssa says. \u201cOvernight I went from sharing interiors and helping women tap into their creativity to educating against antisemitism, exposing Hamas, pushing back against the BDS movement, and fighting the tidal wave of misinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n My content had essentially shifted from homes to Hamas overnight, and suddenly that door shut.<\/p>\n A few weeks later, Alyssa received the news from her agent\u2014the publisher passed on her project. \u201cMy literary agent expressed such deep confusion because that just was not the tone, and their reasoning didn\u2019t add up in any capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n While the official excuse was that Alyssa didn\u2019t have enough coaching experience, she knew this was not only false, but irrelevant. \u201cI knew immediately what had happened,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen a publisher considers acquiring a book, they comb through everything\u2014websites, socials, your public voice. My content had essentially shifted from homes to Hamas overnight, and suddenly that door shut.\u201d<\/p>\n Alyssa explains, \u201cIn publishing, antisemitism rarely declares itself directly\u2014it doesn\u2019t come with blatant swastikas. It comes dressed as professional excuses. The message was very clear: I was welcome as long as I talked about creativity and beauty, but the very moment I educated about antisemitism, or spoke truth about Israel, or declared myself as a very proud Zionist, I was no longer tolerated or accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n Reclaiming the Narrative<\/p>\n Alyssa pulled strength from the resilience of her ancestors. \u201cI\u2019m a fighter,\u201d she says. After that rejection came a new mantra: \u201cWhen they push you down, you have to double down in truth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI doubled down in truth and service,\u201d Alyssa recalls. \u201cI have traveled to Israel three times during the war, bearing witness and amplifying the voices of hostages and their families. I\u2019ve sat in rooms with Heads of State and Ambassadors working to broker peace. Here in the United States, I work closely with organizations such as AJC, ADL, and one of our greatest allies\u2014CUFI. I continue to expose the BDS movement for what it truly is\u2014a dangerous campaign intent on eradicating Israel. By challenging local BDS-backed city resolutions, strengthening civic advocacy, and raising national awareness through op-eds, I am committed to ensuring their agenda is not only exposed but defeated.\u201d<\/p>\n I wrote a brand new book and let my haters title it\u2014I took the three words that were meant to silence me (White. Blonde. Jew.) and made them my forthcoming title.<\/p>\n On top of all that, Alyssa didn\u2019t stop creating. \u201cI wrote a brand new book and let my haters title it\u2014I took the three words that were meant to silence me (White. Blonde. Jew.) and made them my forthcoming title.\u201d Alyssa describes the book as \u201ctransmuting hate into education\u2014a call to end extremism, building bridges stronger than those who are continuing to try to burn them down.\u201d<\/p>\n Given this departure from the genre of her debut book, Alyssa knew she needed a new literary agent. One night shortly after the war began, Alyssa was vocal about current events at a book club meeting with fellow authors\u2014the woman sitting next to her took notice. As fate would have it, an enthusiastic partnership was formed\u2014Alyssa had found her agent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all happened pretty organically. My publisher is BenBella and they\u2019re distributing through Simon & Schuster, and they\u2019re brave\u2014they saw something in the content of this project that needs to be platformed and heard. I also was very mindful of selecting an Israeli publisher. In response to the global boycott targeting Jewish authors and Israeli publishers, it was important for me to carve out space for an Israeli publisher alongside my U.S. publisher, so I\u2019m partnering with Gefen Publishing in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n Alyssa notes, \u201cThis isn\u2019t just my story of rejection\u2014this is what\u2019s been happening to us globally for the past two years against Jewish authors and Israeli publishers. Voices like Zibby and other Jewish authors have been hugely supportive, and vice versa. We have all banded together and are supporting each other\u2014because we can\u2019t be complicit in our own erasure.\u201d<\/p>\n White. Blonde. Jew<\/a>.\u00a0hits bookshelves April 2026 and is now available for pre-order. (Personally, supporting an author who so boldly stands tall in the face of hate will be the easiest decision I make all year.) April can\u2019t come soon enough.<\/p>\n Rachel\u2019s Story<\/p>\n Rachel Caplin<\/a> is the author of\u00a0 bestselling The Spoon and the Sea<\/a>, a historical fiction novel that was shortlisted for the Australian Vogel Literary Award. Originally from Australia, she moved to Israel in 2015, where she balances her writing with a career in tech and a busy family life with her husband and their three young daughters.<\/p>\n In 2022, Rachel was encouraged to submit her manuscript to the prestigious Australian Vogel Literary Award\u2014her work earned a coveted spot in the top three. This high praise and exposure helped Rachel secure a contract with a global literary agency. After working through developmental edits, the plan was to shop her manuscript around to publishers at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 17, 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cThe timing of that was, of course, not in my favor,\u201d Rachel recalls. \u201cI had this momentum and the credentials\u2014a big award, a respected agency\u2014and suddenly the responses from publishers shifted dramatically.\u201d In the wake of October 7th, she began to hear a common refrain:\u00a0It isn\u2019t the right time.<\/p>\n In response to this jarring change of tune, Rachel\u2019s agency suggested positioning her as an Australian author (which she refused to do). She then noticed that a bio being circulated suggested she had \u2018relocated to Tel Aviv to work in tech.\u2019 \u201cI\u2019ve never lived in Tel Aviv, and I didn\u2019t move here for tech,\u201d Rachel clarifies.<\/p>\n Though she says she was never blacklisted, Rachel felt the climate had changed. \u201cThere was an undercurrent that the book had become unpalatable or that the risk of backlash was too high. The novel has strong Jewish themes, part of it is set in Israel, my name is very clearly Jewish, and I live in Israel\u2014it isn\u2019t something I could or would want to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n I broke away from the agency when they shared content that vilified Israel while I was quite literally sheltering my three young children from ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember at one point asking my agent point-blank: \u2018If I submitted the manuscript today to the same award, would they select me and feature me in the newspaper?\u2019 And she said, \u2018Absolutely not.\u2019 The very same book and author that were celebrated in 2022 became taboo in 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n Rachel knew she couldn\u2019t continue on this path. \u201cThe tipping point came in June during the twelve days of war with Iran,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI broke away from the agency when they shared content that vilified Israel while I was quite literally sheltering my three young children from ballistic missiles.\u201d<\/p>\n Reclaiming the Narrative<\/p>\n As an Israeli debut author suddenly without an agent, Rachel decided to reach out directly to Jewish authors in the U.S. (complete strangers at the time) who had voiced solidarity with Israel and spoken openly about the climate in publishing. She\u00a0hoped to find someone who would not only read her book, but love it enough to write a review.\u00a0(In short, Rachel\u2019s not just a talented author\u2014she\u2019s got chutzpah too.)<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a leap of faith,\u201d she admits. \u201cI didn\u2019t know them personally. I had no expectations that anyone would even respond to my email.\u201d<\/p>\n To her surprise, many did. \u201cI was blown away by the generosity,\u201d Rachel says. \u201cSeveral bestselling authors responded and offered not just to read my book, but to review it publicly and put their names behind it. It was incredibly moving.\u201d<\/p>\n Rachel didn\u2019t take their acts of kindness for granted, and has begun to forge friendships with many of these amazing authors. \u201cThe connectivity between Jews inside of Israel and out\u2014I found it to be an amazing display of solidarity,\u201d she reflects. \u201cWhat stays with me is the supportiveness of this community. At a time when being Jewish and Israeli can feel isolating, connecting with this community of talented, brave people has been one of the most valuable outcomes\u2014and it\u2019s something I hope to give back to in a meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spoon and the Sea<\/a>\u00a0was published in July (available in paperback and e-book). The book was the #1 Top New Release on Amazon in three categories: Jewish Historical Fiction, Middle Eastern Literature and Middle Eastern Historical Fiction.<\/p>\n When you grab your copy, know you\u2019re not only lifting up a talented member of the tribe\u2026but the entire community of authors who supported her.<\/p>\n This op-ed originally appeared in the Times of Israel Blogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Antisemitism-in-Publishing_htm_db504b5.jpg\"\/)
Alyssa Rosenheck (photo: Nate Griffin)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Antisemitism-in-Publishing_htm_74c13f61.jpg\"\/)
Rachel Caplin (courtesy)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Antisemitism-in-Publishing_htm_b929f44c.jpg\"\/)
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